Research
Research in the Division Quality and Sensory of Plant Products deals intensively with questions of quality formation and preservation. This includes aspects of sustainable food production under abiotic and biotic stress. Contributions of ecosystem services to yield and product quality formation are investigated. Post-harvest treatments and operations of different crop species, especially processing and marketing, are considered. The research of the division is strongly interdisciplinary and is carried out in close cooperation with other research groups of the University of Göttingen or other universities, non-university institutions and companies.
In addition to the classical quality topics, e.g. nutritional and technological properties of plant products, the division focuses on the field of food sensory analysis. One of the central results of sustainability research, especially in the field of nutrition, is the considerable gap between attitudes and behaviour of the consumer (‘attitude-behaviour gap’). This is strongly connected to the habitualization of eating behaviour and the associated shaping of taste. Many sustainable products fail because they disappoint learned taste expectations.
Another focus is on the development of rapid tests and modern analytical methods for complex quality characteristics that can be determined by high-throughput methods and can therefore be applied in research and practice.
Another focus is on the development of rapid tests and modern analytical methods for complex quality characteristics that can be determined by high-throughput methods and can therefore be applied in research and practice.
Prof. Neugart is member of the managing board of 'The International Association for Plant UV Research' (developed from the COST Action UV4Growth)"
Fields of research
- Plant constituents - identification and quantification of:
- valuable primary and secondary plant metabolites with a focus on complex flavonoid glycosides and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives
- Vitamins and minerals
- Flavour and aromatic substances
- Residues, contaminants and undesirable substances
- UV-B and UV-A as regulators of photosynthesis and various plant defence mechanisms with the aim of increasing health-relevant plant constituents
- Influence of genetic, abiotic and biotic factors on the biosynthesis or accumulation of plant constituents with regard to processing, human health and consumer preferences
- Effect of (thermal) processing on the stability or modification of plant constituents with the aim of maintaining, releasing or forming health-relevant or sensory preferred plant constituents and compounds
- Antioxidant activity and shielding potential, as well as in vitro bioactivity of plant constituents, plant extracts and food produced from plants with the aim of increasing health-relevant plant constituents
- Bitterness, caused by various plant constituents, as a characteristic for the purchase decision with the aim of diversifying the diet