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A durian’s mushy, yellow flesh inside its thorny inexperienced husk seen at a store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mohd Rasfan | AFP | Getty Photos
Some like it, whereas others detest it.
Durians are banned on all public transportation in Singapore as a result of their odor — which some have likened to sewage or smelly socks. Some inns in Southeast Asia even cease their friends from bringing the fruit into the rooms.
But some durian-lovers are prepared to pay prime greenback for the “king of the fruit” — with somebody reportedly parting with a whopping $48,000 for one in 2019.
However there could also be a brand new purpose to understand the prickly fruit.
Scientists in Singapore are utilizing durian husks to create antibacterial bandages they are saying can heal post-surgery wounds.
Repurposed rinds
The know-how — developed by a crew of researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological College (NTU) — makes use of a cheap process to extract cellulose from the fruit’s thick, green husks. The cellulose is mixed with glycerol to create a soft, silicone-like gel, which can be cut to produce plasters, according to the university.
As long as Singaporeans keep eating durians, we can keep making these bandages.
William Chen
Researcher at Nanyang Technological University
Twitter erupted with questions, and many focused on one thing: the fruit’s pungent smell.
Some wondered if the durian’s strong smell can be detected on the bandages, or if wearers will be barred from public buses.
Chen insisted the bandages are odorless.
Others joked about it, with one saying — tongue-in-cheek — that it wasn’t surprising that durian plasters can kill bacteria.
Regardless of the reactions, researchers say the innovation might assist resolve a severe environmental drawback: meals waste.
“It ties in with our drive in direction of creating improvements to cut back meals waste as a complete,” mentioned William Chen, the director of NTU’s Meals Science and Know-how Program and lead scientist behind the innovation.
Professor William Chen and a member of his crew experiment on durian husks.
NTU Singapore
At the very least one durian vendor is happy concerning the prospects.
“That invention … is a unbelievable strategy to recycle the husk,” James Wong, who sells durians in Singapore, advised CNBC. He mentioned durian peels are at the moment thrown away and he pays waste disposal corporations to clear them. “To have the ability to promote the husk to get cash is approach higher.”
80% of the fruit’s weight
Meals in Singapore is comparatively low cost because it’s extremely sponsored by the federal government, Chen advised CNBC.
“The draw back of this reasonably priced and ample meals is that we do not actually worth the meals,” he mentioned.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological College developed a hydrogel bandage made from upcycled durian husks.
NTU Singapore
To mitigate the issue of meals waste, Chen determined to experiment with durian husks, a fabric that is usually thrown away after the mushy, yellow flesh of the fruit is consumed. The husk can account for about 80% of the fruit’s weight.
Durians had been the selection of fruit for a number of causes, the researcher mentioned.
Giant fruits like durians give scientists the required quantity to work with. In addition they have excessive fiber content material, which makes them appropriate for the method.
The supply of durians additionally performed an element, Chen mentioned.
“Singapore consumes 12 million durians a yr,” he mentioned. “So long as Singaporeans preserve consuming durians, we are able to preserve making these bandages.”
Advantages and downsides
Based on Chen, bandages made out of durian husks are each environmentally and medically helpful. Not like present plasters, the brand new bandages comprise hydrogels, which may shield wounds and preserve them moist.
Some medical consultants are onboard with the innovation too.
“The hydrogel bandages produced from durian husk carried out equivalently effectively to these available in the market,” mentioned Affiliate Professor Andrew Tan, a metabolic problems skilled at NTU’s medical college, who is just not a part of the bandage undertaking.
The hydrogel gives moisture which helps take away contaminated tissue and encourages therapeutic, he mentioned, including that “hydrogels can also cool the wound which is useful in assuaging ache.”
Individuals wait in line to purchase durians in Singapore on June 24, 2021.
Suhaimi Abdullah | NurPhoto | Getty Photos
“I’ve at all times believed that nature has the solutions to every little thing,” mentioned Priyadarshani Kamat, a Singapore-based homeopath. “Up to now, I’ve seen how bandages made from potato peels assist burn victims get well their pores and skin shortly, and this [durian] hydrogel is much like that.”
Durian bandages aren’t primed to switch all bandages — not but anyway. Tan identified they are not appropriate for heavy wounds, as they’re largely composed of water.
They are not 100% biodegradable both. Whereas the crew has managed to switch the mushy, cushioned layer with the durian hydrogel, the outer adhesive half continues to be made from plastic, mentioned Chen.
Nonetheless, Chen and his crew hope to carry the durian husk bandages to market inside the subsequent two years.
It makes me really feel barely higher about binging on durians as a result of I do know the husks can be utilized for a very good trigger.
Xin Yi Lin
Singaporean pupil
“I wish to flip analysis into one thing helpful to society,” Chen advised CNBC.
He added that such improvements shouldn’t change the necessity to generate much less waste. “We do not need these improvements to fire-fight with growing waste — the concept is to cut back it at its supply,” he mentioned.
After listening to about Chen’s analysis, one durian-lover felt higher about consuming the fruit.
“I do know the durian husks, particularly throughout durian season, contribute to loads of waste,” mentioned Singaporean pupil Xin Yi Lin, who’s a self-proclaimed durian-fanatic. “It makes me really feel barely higher about binging on durians as a result of I do know the husks can be utilized for a very good trigger.”
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