Agricultural Research Service scientists are making moves on the vegetable front by upping the ante on salad ingredients.
In an April 26 news release, the ARS highlighted the efforts of Philipp Simon, the lead researcher at the Vegetable Crops Research Unit. Simon's research is focusing on improving the nutritional profile of carrots and onions, genetically modifying the plants that make them so the bulbs contain more phytonutrients such as anthocyanin and beta carotene.
“Onions, which belong to the genus allium along with garlic, are also rich in phytonutrients — quercetin and thiosulfinates among them,” the release states. “Thiosulfinates give allium species like onion their pungent aroma and flavor. Cutting or crushing onion and garlic bulbs releases the thiosulfinates and exposure to air causes their breakdown into secondary compounds called organosulfates. That's not a bad thing, however. According to Simon, there's some evidence dietary sources of organosulfates help minimize the risk of heart disease, stroke and some forms of cancer.”
Agricultural Research Service scientists are working to improve the nutritional profile of carrots and onions.
| Sharon Pittaway
Fructan is a carbohydrate-storing polymer and, according to the release, “is also of interest for its health-promoting potential in the human body (though some individuals are sensitive to it and may experience bloating among other symptoms). Onions are second only to wheat as a leading source of fructan, which the body cannot digest but which helps nourish populations of beneficial intestinal bacteria.”
The release reports Simon’s team is making use of cutting-edge genomics technology to identify the specific regions of the plants' genomes responsible for the production of these compounds. These nutrients have important roles in the human body, such as being antioxidants or being converted into vitamins essential for bodily functions.
Simon’s team aims to find the genes that serve as recipes for the proteins that produce these phytonutrients, according to the release. Furthermore, they are also focusing on finding genes or gene regions associated with desirable traits such as disease and/or pest resistance. All this is being done in order to not only boost the population's health but also to improve the agricultural market
