The discipline of Food Science and Engineering conducts research in the following three directions:

(1) Forestry Characteristic Product Processing & Storage Project

Direction 1: Postharvest physiology and preservation technology

Direction 2: Active ingredients and functional mining of forestry characteristic products

Direction 3: Functional and high value processing technology

Based on the scientific research characteristics of Nanjing Forestry University, the research topic is on edible resources from the forestry. It contains (1) the postharvest physiology and storage and preservation technology, including the biochemical basis and regulation mechanism of postharvest quality, pathogenic bacteria generation mechanism and molecular regulation, new green preservation technology and preserving materials; (2) the active ingredients and functional exploration of forestry-based products, including screening and development of active ingredients of forestry-based products and by-products, isolation, purification, detection and structural identification, biological activity and mechanism research; (3) the functionalization and high value-added processing technology, including processing characteristics, quality evaluation and control technology, high value and full utilization of by-products, new processing theories and novel techniques.

(2) Food Nutrition

Direction 1: Exploration and quality improvement of nutrition factors of food in characteristic forest sources

Direction 2: Mechanism and structure-activity relationship of food nutrition

Direction 3: Mechanism of nutrition maintenance in food circulation and processing

The research involves (1) the valorization and quality improvement of nutrient factors of characteristic forest source foods, including separation and extraction, structural identification and functional characteristics of conventional nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc.) and nutritional functional factors (polyphenols, flavones, anthocyanins, and carotenoids, etc.), and exploration their structure-activity relationship and potential application in food processing and utilization; (2) the food nutrition mechanism and structure-activity relationship, explore the effects of conventional nutrients and functional factors of forestry-based food on nutrition and health, such as regulating immunity, antioxidant, anti-fatigue, hypotensive, hypolipidemic or hypoglycemic effects, obesity, regulating intestinal tract functions flora, via cell biology and molecular biology to study the mechanism of physiological functions; (3) nutrition retention mechanism during food circulation and processing, including studying the changes of nutritional factors of food components in circulation and processing, exploring the mechanism of nutritional maintenance, and studying the interaction of nutritional components in circulation and processing to optimize food processing regulation food quality.

(3) Food Biotechnology

Direction 1: Development of enzyme and microbial resources for food

Direction 2: Biosynthesis of functional factors (ingredients) in forest-derived foods

Direction 3: Biological processing of forest source food raw materials

The research covers (1) the development of food enzymes and microbial resources, including the screening of enzyme-producing microorganisms. The enzymes here are enzyme preparations that can be used for food processing or enzyme preparations that can be directly used as dietary supplements. The enzyme genes are cloned, modified, and expressed. Screening of probiotic functional food microorganisms, physiology, biochemistry, breeding, fermentation characteristics, etc.; (2) the forestry-based food functional ingredients biosynthesis, enzyme-catalyzed synthesis (in vitro biosynthesis), cell or engineering cell synthesis (in vivo biosynthesis); (3) The biological processing of forestry-based food raw materials, including the use of food enzymes, food microorganisms to functionalize and clean biological processing of forestry-sourced edible raw materials.