Development and release of NARO integrated database of food functional ingredients based on open and closed data

Abstract

The Institute of Food Research at the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) has released the "Database of Functional Components and Evaluation Information of Agricultural Crops" since 2018. This database enables users to search for functional components of agricultural crops and provides literature information that supports such components. The database is based on the results of the Functional Agricultural, Forestry, Fishery, and Food Products Development Project that took place from 2012-2015. In August 2019, NARO collaborated with Shimadzu Corporation to establish the Joint Research Laboratory for Analyzing Functional Food Ingredients (NARO-Shimadzu Laboratory). This collaboration has led to the accumulation of a large amount of scienti?c evidence on functional agricultural products. Additionally, NARO has results from the analyses performed under the "Technologies for Smart Bio-industry and Agriculture" program of the 2nd stage of Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP2). To consolidate these data sources, NARO developed the "NARO Integrated Database of Food Functional Constituents" based on the data from the "Database of Functional Components and Evaluation Information of Agricultural Crops," the data from the "NARO-Shimadzu Laboratory," and the data derived from SIP2. This database includes restricted data that can only be accessed by authorized users, and it features a ?exible user authentication function to enable appropriate access control. The database also implements a faceted search function that groups search results according to data attributes and a graph display function.