Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) Albert Linton Charles, an academic from the Caribbean nation of the Commonwealth of Dominica, recently gained public attention after he became a department head at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) in southern Taiwan.
Charles, 34, was appointed chairman of the NPUST’s Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation in August, becoming the first foreigner to head a faculty at the school in Pingtung County.
In response to questions about why he chose to remain in Taiwan after receiving his Ph.D. from NPUST in 2004, Charles said he wanted “to help young Taiwanese people.”
He arrived in Taiwan in 1999 for graduate study at NPUST equipped with a scholarship provided by Taiwan’s government-operated International Cooperation and Development Fund.
His studies into the anticarcinogenic and antioxidant properties of cassava, a plant native to South America and extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible root, were a first in Taiwan.
Charles said he proved that cassava starch contains polysaccharide and polyphenol substances that may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The results of his research have been published in various domestic and international publications including the Journal of Food Science and the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, he said.
Asked about his interest in cassava, the East Caribbean scientist said his curiosity was aroused by the fact that rates of cancer tended to be lower in South American nations consuming cassava and the tapioca flour made from it as staple foods.
Charles said he has taught his students to make noodles and bread out of tapioca flour, which he bragged were “chewy and yummy.” He expressed willingness to transfer the techniques to businesses interested in marketing the products.
Despite his passion for the cassava of his home, Charles said he enjoys trying foods in Taiwan’s night markets, and similarly, when it came to getting married, although he had no limitations on nationality, said he may well settle down with a Taiwanese woman. (By Kuo Chu-chen and Elizabeth Hsu) enditem/MH
