Purple-atoes !!

I was browsing through some news and and I came across this GM purple tomatoes heading for shops. The purple tomatoes have more expressed form of Anthocyanin. This thing is present in almost all the colored stuff you see in nature. These are the colored pigments and the intensity of which is determined by the gene's expression. (Now I will not go any further into the Molecular Biology stuff) Anthocyanin has been proved to delay cancer in mice and the researchers are expecting the same in humans. 

                                         

Scientists say the new tomatoes could improve the nutritional value of everything from ketchup to pizza topping. The tomatoes were developed at the John Innes Centre in Norwich where Prof Cathie Martin hopes the first delivery of large quantities of juice will allow researchers to investigate its potential."With these purple tomatoes you can get the same compounds that are present in blueberries and cranberries that give them their health benefits - but you can apply them to foods that people actually eat in significant amounts and are reasonably affordable," she said. 

The tomato developed by the John Innes Centre in Norwich contains high concentrations of anthocyanins, pigments found in blackberries and cranberries. Anthocyanins are chemicals called flavonoids which mop up potentially harmful oxygen molecules in the body. Although they are produced naturally by tomato plants, they are normally found only in the leaves. The scientists transferred the genes from the snapdragons using specially adapted bacteria, the natural genetic engineer.  

I hope for a better tomorrow with the rapid improvements in science, not only with these tomatoes but definitely with some extensive research for the cure of some deadly disorders or some which are still a mystery like DDT: Pesticide linked to Alzheimer's.

Till then, stay healthy and blessed.