SCI Where Science Meets Business

30/06/2026

The research driving JSFA Reports' new impact factor of 1.9.

🥜 How can we unlock the economic and health potential of the cashew apple? 🍎

Cashew apples are a frequently discarded byproduct of the cashew nut, but they are exceptionally dense in vitamin C, antioxidants, and fibre.

Akyereko et al. advocate for better processing infrastructure, transforming the cashew apple into products such as juices, wines, and jams as solutions to short shelf life and astringent flavour that leads to most of the harvest being wasted.

Read the full paper here: https://okt.to/p3GHYB

30/04/2026

🫖 Healthier tea, and more of it!

Research published in SCI's JSFA Reports has found that using shikimic and salicylic acids can induce significant polyphenol synthesis and antioxidant activity in tea plants.

This can have extensive health benefits for consumers, including reducing inflammation, supporting heart health, protecting against chronic diseases (like cancer and diabetes), and improving gut health.

High polyphenol content in plants also allows them to be more resistant to environmental stresses such as drought, extreme heat, and floods, leading to increased yields.

Read the full article here: https://okt.to/6fHY8y

Background Camellia sinensis, widely consumed as tea, is the second most popular beverage globally and is valued for its health benefits. However, environmental stressors pose a significant challeng...

25/04/2026

🍻 Could this review spell the end of bad beer?

A comprehensive technical overview recently published in JSFA Reports highlights how the malting and brewing of barley influences the sensory quality of the final product.

While beer is traditionally viewed as a microbiologically safe beverage, the presence of various contaminants throughout the production process can severely compromise the sensory quality of beer, and bring about health risks, with craft beers showing higher incidence of these contaminants.

This brings about implications for industry, highlighting the importance of integrated, risk-based control across the entire chain, including selecting resistant barley varieties and controlling fungal growth during malting.

You can read the full article here, and raise a glass to the researchers for better tasting beer.
https://okt.to/3Fdr9G

This review addresses the current state of knowledge on the barley–malt–beer chain and its main physical, chemical, and microbiological contaminants, with particular emphasis on spoilage microorganis...

16/04/2026

If you've ever taken a walk along a coastal path then chances are you've encountered sea buckthorn.

Considered an invasive shrub due to its ability to grow in harsh conditions, research published in SCI's JSFA Reports suggests this unglamorous plant could actually represent an affordable, health-promoting resource suitable for functional food and pharmaceutical applications.

The nutritional benefits of sea buckthorn berries have already been documented, but this study finds that the plant's leaves possess potent antioxidant capabilities and a notable ability to protect human red blood cells from oxidative damage. The leaves were also found to be a substantial source of minerals like calcium and magnesium, as well as essential carbohydrates and proteins.

This has exciting implications for turning a plant seen as a pest into a source of societal benefit.

You can read the full article here: https://okt.to/nJm51l

Background Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is a valuable plant with diverse health benefits attributed to its rich phytochemical composition and medicinal properties. In this study, the chem...