For fourteen years, purple tomatoes have been trying to get approval to enter the United States. Next year, anyone in the country can buy purple tomato seeds to plant. This tomato was genetically modified to change its color and increase its nutritional value by two researchers from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) developed by Norfolk Plant Sciences, a British company.
Cathy Martin and Jonathan Jones are the duo that developed this purple tomato, and it has been waiting for news from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) since 2008, after developing this new product the previous year. The goals of this genetically modified organism are simple: to increase health benefits and improve nutritional outcomes.
To do this, scientists use a simple genetic modification that instructs plants to produce large amounts of anthocyanins, for example, a pigment that we can find in blackcurrant – which helps to give these tomatoes a different color. But not only that, these types of antioxidants reduce the risk of heart disease or diabetes.
Purple tomatoes Now approved and argues that this may have an impact on extending useful life. That’s because a study from 2008 was published Natural Biotechnology, adding these genetically modified tomatoes to the diet of cancer-prone mice increased lifespan by 30% compared to mice that did not eat these tomatoes. These beneficial health outcomes have never been demonstrated in humans.
Cathy Martin never stops working on new ways to redefine this fruit all year long. Last May, a researcher at the John Innes Center at the University of Cambridge concentrated vitamin D3 in tomatoes with the aim of alleviating the deficiency of this vitamin in more than a billion people worldwide. It’s not on sale yet.
Norfolk Plant Sciences’ tomato distribution is expected to begin next spring, and the company has already announced that it has hundreds of interested parties. site Entitled Large purple tomatoes.
This is the company’s first approval to commercialize seeds and purple tomatoes. While on sale on US newsstands, purple tomatoes are still not being circulated in the UK and EU.
“Total creator. Devoted tv fanatic. Communicator. Evil pop culture buff. Social media advocate.”
