A Marquette and Uganda Connection

At the January program, we learned about the research project for jackfruit sustainability from our AAUW Fellowship Scholar, Justine Nakintu, PhD, Biology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda. She is pictured here with Dr. Susy Ziegler, Department Head at Northern Michigan University’s Earth, Environment and Geographical Studies.

Current Conditions in Uganda
Dr. Nakintu began her presentation with an overall view of the current agriculture in Uganda, where the weather, which is being affected by climate change, determines the size and quality of each harvest and the number of sustainable crops is limited to maize, bananas, and beans. For this reason, she and ten NMU students are examining the potential uses of jackfruit. There are three outcomes that Dr. Nakintu is working toward:

1. Find new areas in Uganda to sustainable grow more jackfruit
2. Find low tech methods to preserve jackfruit for increasing shelf life and exporting possibilities
3. Find the nutritional value of other jackfruit products for potential use in schools, hospitals and other community organizations.

Why Jackfruit?
This fruit, which tastes like a very firm and fibrous banana, has numerous nutritional benefits: being a rich source of fiber for digestive health, providing essential vitamins like vitamin C to boost the immune system, supporting heart health with nutrients like potassium, promoting skin health due to antioxidants, aiding in weight management due to its low calorie count, and potentially helping regulate blood sugar levels with its fiber content; additionally, jackfruit is a good source of minerals like magnesium and calcium, which are important for bone health.

The jackfruit tree takes approximately 8 months from planting to bear fruit, has a life span of 80 years or more, is drought tolerant, grows well without additional chemicals and provides an estimated 200 large fruits annually. The ripe fruit is available all year long, but its shelf life is very short—5 days.

The jackfruit tree, bearing fruit in about 8 months and living for over 80 years, is drought-tolerant and requires no additional chemicals. Each tree can produce around 200 large fruits annually, but the ripe fruit has a short shelf life of just 5 days. Jackfruit is commercially significant, though fresh fruit is preferred over canned due to better taste and nutrition. Fresh is best!

Methods for Achievement
One of the goals of the research project is to find new areas to grow more trees, which is being accomplished by examining soil samples taken from several areas in Uganda. The available equipment at NMU enables Dr. Nakintu and her assistants to look at detailed analysis of soil minerals for planting bountiful jackfruit farms.

The second goal of creating a longer shelf life is being researched through a variety of experiments. Currently, there are several types of wine that are being created with combinations of ingredients, like hibiscus for red wine, and will go through extensive taste testing (there is no shortage of volunteers for this experiment).

The third research outcome concerns public health and continued viability of jackfruit nutritional benefits. Dr. Nakintu is examining how to create a jackfruit flour that can be used to create baked products, like biscuits, without sacrificing the benefits of the fresh variety. By creating a jackfruit flour, the product will be easily exported and have a lengthy shelf life, providing nutrition to many under-served areas of the world.

Dr. Nakintu is supported not only by this fellowship grant, but also by her husband and 5 sons at home in Uganda. She is very grateful for this opportunity that AAUW has provided to further her research and experience the qualities of an Upper Peninsula winter! Her passion and excitement for this research is contagious and we, at the Marquette branch, are honored to be a part of this quest for knowledge.