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USDA CSREES Research Grant
"Designing Foods for Health" is a signature research program within the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) and the Vegetable & Fruit Improvement Center (VFIC). The long-term goal is to elucidate genetic and environmental components affecting fruit quality and plant growth, while developing improved varieties, production practices and packaging for maintaining the highest level of these compounds.
Specific objectives will investigate carrots, citrus, melons, onions, peaches, pecans, peppers, plums, potatoes, and watermelons. The target bioactive compounds include anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, calcium, carotenoids, flavonoids, limonoids, phenolic compounds, and sugars.
Interdisciplinary projects of enhancing these bioactive compounds through conventional breeding and genetic engineering, pre-and post-harvest practices and their role in human health are necessary to achieve the long-term goal of this research program. The following are projects funded by this program. Follow the links to see project objectives and progress reports. Genetics (Breeding, Variety Development, Plant Physiology, Molecular Biology and Genomics) 2001-2002 Breeding Melons and Peppers for Enhanced Levels of Important Antioxidants, Flavonoids and Carotenoids Preservation and Enhancement of Nutritional Composition of Melon Through Delayed Ripening/Senescence Changes of Pungency in Onion Bulbs during Maturation and by Field-curing Methods Strategies to Enhance Quality of New Vegetables under Semi-arid Environments Enhancing Tomato Disease Resistance and Nutritional Quality Influence of stress on phytochemical content 2003-2004 A Survey of Carotenoid Profiles in Fruits and Vegetables and Screening of Breeding Lines for Developing New High Carotenoid Cultivars Enhancing Carotenoids with Increased Antioxidant Activity in Watermelon Impact of Altering the Calcium Content of Potatoes Through Genetic Engineering Development of Calcium-rich Vegetables and Fruit Marker Assisted Introgression of Genes, which Regulate Carotenoid, Flavonoid, and Ascorbic Acid Synthesis, into Commercial Quality Peppers and Melons Strategies to Enhance Product Quality of Genetically Improved Vegetables Development of Reliable PCR-based Molecular Markers for Allelic Selection of Red and Yellow Bulb Colors in Onions (Allium cepa) 2004-2005 Development of New Melon Varieties with Enhanced Nutritional and Flavor-related Compounds Improving the Phytonutrient Content of Vegetables and Fruits through Modified Pre-Harvest Cultural Practices Enhancing Carotenoid Content of Watermelon Strategies to Enhance Quality and Phytochemical Content of Specialty Peppers Analysis of Potatoes Expressing an Arabidopsis Calcium Transporter Metabolic Engineering of Flavonoids to Improve Human Health in Vegetable and Fruit Genetic Approaches to Enhance the Calcium in Tomato Fruit Health Benefits (Phytochemicals, Nutraceuticals, In vitro and In vivo Efficacy Studies) 2001-2002 Phytochemicals in Stone Fruit and the Development of Healthier Cultivars for the Niche Market Citrus Limonoid Effects on Plasma Cholesterol Reduction Citrus Limonoids: Increasing Importance to Human Health 2003-2004 Activity-Based Component Analysis of the Phenolics Found in Plum and Peach Quercetin as an in vivo inhibitor of oxidative stress Component Analysis of the Phenolic Compounds in Red-Fleshed Peaches and Plums Citrus Functional Components and their Antioxidant Activity 2004-2005 Research on the Health Benefits of Naringin and Naringenin Flavonoids and Limonoids Effect on Bone Homeostasis and Antioxidant Capacity Integrative Study of Quercetin Effects on iNOS, Cyclooxgenase and Lipoxygenase Enzymes Food Processing and Quality (Chemical Analyis, Post Harvest, Packaging) 2003-2004 Post-harvest Abiotic Stress Treatments to Enhance Nutraceutical Antioxidant Compounds in Fruits and Vegetables Exploring the Use of New Crop Varieties with High Phytochemical Content in the Development of Fresh-Cut Products 2004-2005 Antioxidant Activity of Pecan Kernels as Affected by Cultivar and Storage Conditions Developing Packaging Technology for Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables Developing Phytochemical Supplements of Anthocyanins, Flavonoids, and Carotenoids from Onions, Carrots, Tomatoes, and Watermelons
Publications related to this research are linked here.
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