IRL scientist on “most-cited” research papers list
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Media Release
March 18, 2008
IRL scientist on “most-cited” research papers list
A research paper by IRL senior research scientist, Dr Lai Yeap Foo on the identity of the active compounds in
cranberries has made the list of “most-cited research articles” on a leading US scientific publisher’s website
[http://atd44.acs.org/journals/jnprdf/promo/most/ most_cited/overall.html].
The paper [A-Type Proanthocyanidin Trimers from Cranberry that Inhibit Adherence of Uropathogenic P-Fimbriated
Escherichia coli ", Foo, L. Y.; Lu, Y.; Howell, A. B.; Vorsa, N. J. Nat. Prod.; (Article); 2000; 63(9); 1225-1228.] was
co-authored with Dr Amy Howell – a plant pathologist from Rutgers University in New Jersey and Dr Nicholi Vorsa, who is
director of the University’s Marucci Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension Centre. Their article was published
in 2000 in the Journal of Natural Products by ACS Publishing, the publisher of the world's leading peer-reviewed
research journals in the chemical and related sciences.
The paper arises from Dr Foo’s work in isolating specific oligomeric compounds from cranberry fruit, called condensed
tannins or proanthocyanidins (PACs), which were found to prevent E. coli bacteria from attaching to cells from the
urinary tract.
He became involved after Amy Howell – who was researching the scientific evidence behind the accepted wisdom that
cranberries promoted urinary health - was advised “the one person in the world who can solve the complex chemistry is Dr
Lai Yeap Foo at Industrial Research in New Zealand”.
“The Americans knew that cranberries inhibited urinary tract infection, but the chemical structure of the compounds
responsible for this were a little beyond them. We were able to satisfactorily accomplish this in our Lower Hutt
laboratory,” he recalls.
In September last year, Dr Howell and representatives of Ocean Spray – the world’s largest producer of cranberry
products – visited IRL during a tour in New Zealand and presented Dr Foo with an award in recognition of his major
contribution to international molecular nutrition and food science.
The scientific confirmation of the health benefits of cranberries sparked huge growth in the cranberry industry in the
US and has also seen cranberries being grown on the West Coast for the New Zealand market.
ENDS