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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Sulphur dioxide boosts grape health, (not eaters') Sulphur dioxide dual bolster to post-harvest grape health A UWA research team has made the surprise discovery that sulphur dioxide (SO2) enhances grape berries’ natural defence system, making better able to fight off pathogens. Shiraz The sulphur dioxide provided an oxidative stress on the post-harvest grape berries and so strengthens their own defences. flickr: tannic teeth It was previously thought that sulphur dioxide—used as a preservative in dried fruits and winemaking—directly attacked the bacterial and fungal pathogens that cause spoilage. UWA School of Plant Biology, Assistant Professor Michael Considine who led the team says the sulphur dioxide provided an oxidative stress on the post-harvest grape berries (Vitis vinifera) and in doing so strengthens their own defences. “The sulphur dioxide had quite a massive effect on the berry's metabolism and it showed that it was quite a stress,” A/Prof Considine says. He says sulphur dioxide was originally used in the tests as a control, but in the end had significantly different results than they had imagined. “What we started to investigate is how we might be able to increase the antioxidant capacity of table grapes and increase its own plant defences…but not with sulphur dioxide.” A/Prof Considine says it can be thought of as akin to a vaccination of the berries. “If you lightly chill a plant or fruit and let it recover back to normal conditions it may then turn out to be more resistant to pathogen attack or heat stress or light stress or to other stresses because there is a lot of commonality in those response pathways,” he says. “If [plants] are subjected to one stress they often become tolerant to other stresses.” Sulphur dioxide has been used as a preservative for centuries and is still permitted for use in winemaking and for dried fruits but cannot be used as an additive on any fresh produce due to the adverse health effects. It is known to cause a number of respiratory problems and allergic reactions but is still permitted for use in the wine industry because an affordable, effective alternative has not been found. “The nearer term outcome may be that we find more clever ways of using sulphur dioxide which enables lower residues and I think that would be embraced by all industry,” A/Prof Considine says. He says that finding ways to reduce sulphites are important to the table grape and wine industry as consumer pressure over biodynamic and organic food production methods is increasing. A/Prof Considine hopes to continue research in this area leading to positive outcomes for the industry and consumers. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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