WORLD
Study says frozen vegetables live on
Baku, June 22 (AZERTAC). If you tell your kids about a new scientific study it could make getting them to eat vegetables a whole lot harder.
Scientists say they have now found out the produce you buy in the shops is still alive and all those blueberries and zucchinis are still responding to the time of day.
However, this discovery published in the journal Current Biology suggests there is a healthy upside to knowing that.
One of the authors, Professor Janet Braam of Rice University in the United States says it could spell changes to the way produce is harvested and stored that increase the food`s nutritional value.
“Vegetables and fruits, even after harvest, can respond to light signals and consequently change their biology in ways that may affect health value and insect resistance,” she said in a statement about the paper.
Plants are made up of many separate parts that can continue to metabolise and survive more or less independently, at least for some time after harvest.
The study showed that post-harvest vegetables and fruits continued to perceive light so their biological clocks kept on ticking.
The plants responded to the light by altering levels of chemicals that protect them from being eaten by insects and other herbivores.
Some of those same phytochemicals also have anti-cancer effects when people eat them.
The researchers made their initial discovery with cabbages, then lettuce, spinach, zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots and blueberries.
Fruits and veggies subjected to light-dark cycles at the right times suffered less insect damage.