Development of Functional Organic Vegetables Fermented Drinks

People live in the society of Taiwan are under great pressure, as a result, many people suffer depression and cannot sleep well. According to the survey of Department of National Health, there are 8.9 % population suffering mild depression, and 5.2% suffering severe depression. In other words, more than million people suffer depression. Insomnia is even more common. There are 10% of population in Taiwan suffering insomnia. Most of the patients are under medication. However, the efficacy is not significant and the side effects including memory loss and drug dependency of those medicine cannot be ignored. It is known that the GABA from natural source such as lactic acid bacteria could be used to alleviate depression and insomnia. Besides, the vegetables of Brassicaceae are known to have anti-cancer bioactivity due to the presence of the key compounds of glucosinolates. However, many valuable vegetables are treated as wastes resulting from the imbalance of demand and supply in the vegetable market. Thus, the purpose of this project is to develop functional juices from fermented vegetables of Brassicaceae. We might monitor the key compounds such as GABA and glucosinolates to substantiate their functionality including anti-cancer, anti-depression and anti-insomnia. We strongly believe that research results of this proposal would benefit the society of Taiwan.