New natural functional foods for disease prevention

How much would you pay for foods that stopped disease? Consumer research by Horticulture Australia called ‘Vital Vegetables’ involving Department of Primary Industries, Victoria and the New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research, has revealed that after consumers were made aware of functional food, they agreed they would pay a premium price for these types of food.

According to the Institute of Food Technologists, “Functional foods are those foods and food components that provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition (for the intended population.”

Examples include conventional foods; fortified, enriched or enhanced foods; and dietary supplements. These substances provide essential nutrients often beyond quantities necessary for normal maintenance, growth, and development, and/or other biologically active components that impart health benefits or desirable physiological effects.

Engaging a more wholesome approach, the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) is enhancing the health benefits of fruit and vegetables calling them ‘naturally functional foods.’

These foods could provide a great economic opportunity for farmers and for the state. New plant material can be created that can be patented and licensed to the world, providing considerable competitive global advantage and a flow on benefit to food manufacturers and the food service industry is a brand based on improving health at a premium price.

Twenty Asian vegetables (Brassica family) were tested by DPI&F. Brassica was used as a starting point because broccoli, also in the Brassica family, has been shown to contain sulphoraphane, a natural compound that supports the bodies own anti-cancer activity. Broccoli sprouts contain particularly high levels of this compound compared to mature broccoli, some 20-50 times the level. This has led to the booming ‘Broccosprout’ industry in the United States.

After testing daikon and radish sprouts they found sulphoraphene, a similar compound to sulphoraphane with comparable anti-cancer activity. Daikon and radish are also free of a protein that weakens the anti-cancer action of broccoli by up to 80%.

Turning to sweet corn the DPI&F is working on a proposal for development of a new variety that will contain enhanced levels of carotenoid pigments, which have been shown to be linked to reduced incidence of macular eye degeneration.

Macular eye degeneration is predominantly found in elderly adults. This medical condition results in a loss of central vision making it difficult to see fine details, recognise faces or drive a vehicle. In Australia one in seven persons over the age of 50 suffers from this condition. At age 75 one in three have some degree of central blindness.

The object of the research is to breed sweet corn hybrids with enhanced levels of the yellow pigments, lutein and zeaxanthin which have been shown to delay the progression of macular eye degeneration.

Fruit is a particularly promising functional food and the tomato is no exception with lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found to provide protection against prostrate cancer and heart disease.

DPI&F scientists recognised an opportunity to significantly increase lycopene levels. In the last two years breeding, has now produced tomatoes with three times the level of lycopene. Currently, they are transferring the high-lycopene trait into elite tomato varieties already available in their fresh market program.

Health benefits of antioxidants are well recorded. Antioxidants exist in most fruit and vegetables but particularly promising antioxidants are anthocyanins which are contained in dark red and purple fruit, like plums. Plums contain high levels of anthocyanins and a new plum, Queen Garnet, developed by the DPI&F now beats current levels of other varieties and in fact most other fruit, except guava and carambola. It has real potential for juicing, drying and possibly canning giving year round availability. Fruit are dark red, firm, and, equal to two glasses of red wine or a cup of tea in antioxidant value for each 100 grams of plum flesh.

There is nothing new about the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. But as science continue to investigate food and substantiates some of the claims, world health will be a major and welcome outcome.

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