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Anti-cancer potato pigment
The yellow flesh of some potatoes is down to natural pigments, which have anti-cancer properties.
Scientists working on module two of EU-SOL have managed to produce a potato with increased levels of the nutraceutical beta-carotene.
Beta-carotene is the carotenoid or natural pigment which gives some potatoes their yellow colour inside. More interestingly to the consumer it helps protect their DNA against free radical attack, which can cause cancer. It is also the main dietary precursor of (what you body uses to make) Vitamin A.
By silencing (switching off) a gene which codes for an enzyme which metabolises (changes) beta-carotene into a different compound they have managed to produce potato tubers with up to 38 times as much beta-carotene content and 4.5 times as much total carotenoid content.
This is a significant effect and indicates the importance of this gene in determining carotenoid content of potatoes. This discovery holds great promise for the development of a potatoes with increased carotenoid content for the consumer.
To read the paper in full please click on this link: Silencing of beta-carotene hydroxylase increases total carotenoid and beta-carotene levels in potato tubers.
