Drinking black tea and eating meals low in fat and
cholesterol may help lower LDL cholesterol in the blood. LDL is the
"bad" cholesterol implicated in increased risk of coronary heart
disease.
In the United States, black tea is the most
popular kind of tea. The nutrition research findings about this tea are from a
study of seven men and eight women, aged 20 to 70, who volunteered for an
investigation conducted by scientists at the ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition
Research Center.
The study investigated the effects of three
treatment beverages--black tea, tea-flavored water, and tea-flavored water with
caffeine (in an amount similar to that in black tea). Throughout the study, the
participants followed a regimen of meals that were moderately low in fat,
varying only in the tea or tea-flavored beverage.
Scientists found that drinking black tea as
part of a prudent diet significantly reduced total and LDL cholesterol (October
2003, Journal of Nutrition, vol. 133, pp. 3298S-3302S).
For more information, contact
Joseph T. Judd, (301) 504-8306,
USDA-ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition
Research Center, Beltsville, MD.
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Pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables can now be detected
quickly and less expensively, thanks to a new laboratory procedure from an ARS
chemist. This streamlined approach to extracting pesticide residues from food
samples and preparing them for analysis is called "QuEChERS"
--pronounced "catchers" and short for Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective,
Rugged and Safe.
QuEChERS could replace current methods that
are time-consuming, expensive and labor-intensive. For example, costs of
materials needed for a QuEChERS analysis are at least four times lower than
those for traditional methods.
Today, more than half of the samples of
produce tested in this country typically are free of measurable residues of
pesticides. That's according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Washing,
peeling or cooking produce can remove most residues. And, routine monitoring
helps maintain America's high food safety standards.
For more information, contact
Steven J. Lehotay, (215) 233-6433,
USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research
Center, Wyndmoor, PA.
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The 1.5 million Americans who are allergic to peanuts
may someday have an allergen-free peanut they can enjoy. ARS scientists at the
agency's Southern Regional Research Center already have found a peanut variety
that's free of one of the three major peanut allergens--proteins that can
trigger an allergic reaction.
They did that by screening 300 different
kinds of peanuts from a collection maintained by North Carolina State
University.
In the laboratory, the researchers produced
molecules called antibodies that seek out, bind to and signal the amount of the
dangerous allergens. Now they are using those same detective molecules to find
a second allergen-free peanut plant. Then, their two peanut plants could be
used as parents to produce a safer peanut with reduced allergens.
The work is one of several approaches that
ARS researchers are taking to tackle the peanut-allergy problem.
For more information, contact
Soheila J. Maleki, (504)
286-4590, ext. 590, USDA-ARS
Southern
Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA.
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A form of vitamin D, discovered in laboratory studies
by an ARS researcher, may help fight cancer. ARS and Bone Care International,
Inc., Madison, Wis., share a patent on an experimental anti-cancer drug that's
based on the compound.
Known as a metabolite, the vitamin D form is
1,24-dihydroxyvitamin D2. Though scientists had previously known of a vitamin D
metabolite called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D2, ARS was the first to uncover the
1,24 form.
Found mainly in plants, the parent
compound--vitamin D2--is used as a dietary supplement. Both the 1,25 and the
1,24 forms activate vitamin D's ability to build strong bones and help prevent
the weakening associated with osteoporosis.
Earlier work, done elsewhere, pointed to
vitamin D's potential anti-cancer activity. But high doses of the vitamin can
have toxic effects. The 1,24 metabolite may offer a way to safely provide doses
that are nontoxic yet high enough to fight cancer.
Bone Care International expects to begin
clinical trials this year to learn more about the 1,24 metabolite.
For more information, contact
Ronald L. Horst, (515) 663-7312,
USDA-ARS National Animal Disease
Center, Ames, IA.
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Unique kinds of corn from ARS and Iowa State
University scientists may provide cooking oils and margarines that are
healthier for the heart than today's selections.
Some of the 14 new corn varieties yield oils
with 60 to 70 percent oleic acid-a monounsaturated fat. In contrast, most
corn oils contain only 20 to 30 percent oleic acid.
Products high in oleic acid may help reduce
blood levels of low-density lipoprotein, the cholesterol linked to heart
attacks and strokes
The researchers are patenting the promising
corn lines and are seeking corporate partners. Collaborations could speed the
search for products that can use the new, high-oleic lines, and could hasten
cross-breeding of the new lines with existing corn varieties.
Interestingly, parents of the high-oleic corn
include eastern gamagrass, a hardy native that is a distant relative of
corn.
For more information, contact
Linda M. Pollak, (515) 294-7831,
USDA-ARS Corn Insects
and Crops Genetics Research Unit, Ames, IA and
Susan A. Duvick, (515) 294-9375,
USDA-ARS North
Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, Ames, IA.
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When cooked and lightly salted, the pea-like beans
inside "vegetable" soybeans make a protein-rich addition to salads,
casseroles, soups, snacks, mixed or stir-fried vegetables and other
foods.
ARS scientists have now bred a new vegetable
soybean called "Moon Cake." It gets its name from the Chinese Moon
Cake Festival in which delicacies made with soybean paste, and shaped like the
full moon that the festival celebrates, are enjoyed.
Also known as edamame (pronounced
eh-dah-MAH-may) vegetable soybeans are a high-value specialty crop typically
sold in Asian or health food stores.
Moon Cake grows to 6 feet tall under the
right conditions, making it the world's first giant vegetable soybean. Its
height helps shade out weeds. That's a boon for organic farmers who--by
law--can't use conventional herbicides.
For more information, contact
Thomas E. Devine, (301) 504-6375,
USDA-ARS Sustainable
Agricultural Systems Laboratory, Beltsville, MD.
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The carbohydrates in orange peels have intriguing,
potentially health-promoting properties. But, more research is still needed,
scientists report.
Pectin, a type of carbohydrate in orange
peels and in certain other fruits and vegetables, increases the growth of
beneficial bacteria in the large intestine. Pectin fragments also help keep the
intestine healthy by acting as natural "anti-adhesives." In that
role, they are thought to undermine the ability of food-borne pathogens to
attach to, and proliferate in, the intestine.
ARS scientists with the Eastern Regional
Research Center demonstrated these properties of orange peel pectin for the
first time. They collaborated with researchers from the University of Reading
in Reading, U.K.
Pectin today is used as a gelling agent in
jelly products and as a stabilizer in dairy products.
For more information, contact
Arland T. Hotchkiss, (215)
233-6448, USDA-ARS Eastern Regional
Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA.
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Eating fruits, vegetables and certain grains
that are rich in antioxidant compounds could be the most practical and least
expensive way to delay formation of cataracts. Cataracts are a clouding of the
eye's lens, which interferes with the passage of light and impairs vision.
About half of all Americans aged 75 and over develop this condition.
In ongoing research, ARS-funded scientists at
the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University are discovering more about the relation, over time, between eating
habits and healthy eyes. They examined food questionnaires completed over 13 to
15 years by 478 nondiabetic women volunteers, aged 53 to 73. The researchers
also examined the volunteers' eyes. All of the volunteers had been recently
diagnosed with cataracts.
Volunteers who had a history of consuming
more vitamin C, vitamin E, riboflavin, folate, beta-carotene, lutein or
zeaxanthin had a lower prevalence of cloudiness in certain lens areas than did
volunteers with the lowest intakes of those nutrients. Scientists already know
that certain antioxidant nutrients inside the lens help maintain healthy cells
and tissues in the eye.
The volunteers were selected from among
participants in the long-term, federally funded Nurses' Health Study.
For more information, contact
Allen Taylor, (617) 556-3155, ARS
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research
Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA.
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Nicole, a new gourmet apricot from ARS
treefruit breeders in California, is superb for making jams, marmalade or
fillings for baked goodies. This apricot keeps its exceptionally sweet flavor,
delightful fragrance and attractive, deep-orange color when processed into
these products.
Scientists singled out Nicole from other
experimental apricots in 1992, tested the trees in their research orchards, and
examined hundreds of apricots produced by those experimental trees before
offering the new variety to growers and breeders this year.
Nicole should flourish in any area where
commercial apricots are currently grown. Trees will produce a bountiful supply
of two-ounce fruit, a typical size for today's apricots.
For more information, contact
Craig A. Ledbetter, (559)
596- 2817, USDA-ARS San Joaquin Valley
Agricultural Sciences Center, Parlier, CA.
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Now there's a new, improved technique for measuring the amount of
vitamin B12 in foods and in supplements such as vitamin pills. This nutrient,
found in meat and dairy products, is essential for proper growth and for
healthy cells.
The new approach from ARS scientists is
faster than the most commonly used laboratory assay. And, the new technique can
be used to individually detect all the various forms of vitamin B12, called
cobalamins.
The improved assay should enhance research
aimed at learning how our bodies take up and use cobalamins. The B12 test uses
either of two standard techniques--capillary electrophoresis or
micro-high-performance liquid chromatography--for separating samples into the
various individual cobalamins. This is combined with a technique, called
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which measures how much of each
form of vitamin B12 is present.
For more information, contact
Nancy Miller-Ihli, (301)
504-8252, ext. 252, USDA-ARS Beltsville
Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD.
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Providing children with opportunities to
select, for themselves, appropriately-sized portions at meals may help reduce
the growing problem of childhood obesity in the United States. That's indicated
by a six-month study by researchers at the ARS Children's Nutrition Research
Center and at The Pennsylvania State University.
The scientists worked with 30 youngsters,
aged three to five. Overall, the kids ate about 25 percent more of a
macaroni-and-cheese entree in a series of lunches when they were served
excessively large portions than when they were served a suitably sized portion.
When the kids were allowed to serve
themselves, they served less and ate less than when served large portions (May
2003 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 77, pp.
1164-1170).
For more information, contact
Jennifer O. Fisher, (713) 798-6766,
USDA-ARS Children's Nutrition Research
Center at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
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A low-fat, low-calorie regimen may not only
help Americans lose weight, but may also boost the health of their immune
systems. Scientists documented those results in a study with 10 men and women
aged 35 or older. The volunteers had high cholesterol, high triglycerides or
both. Those conditions can increase the risk of heart or other diseases.
The volunteers showed significantly better
immune response after completing a 12-week, low-calorie stint during which fat
made up no more than 15 percent of each day's total calories. That regimen was
the last in a series of four test phases. Skin patch tests and blood tests were
used to assess immune response.
Cholesterol levels were significantly
reduced after all the fat-restricted phases of the study.
ARS-funded scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA
Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University reported these
findings in the April 2003 Journal of the American College of Nutrition
(vol. 22, pp. 174-182).
The researchers plan more studies, with
larger groups of volunteers, to learn more about the effects of low-calorie
regimens on cholesterol levels and the immune system.
For more information, contact
Simin N. Meydani, (617) 556-3129,
ARS Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA.
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Small, hard-to-find particles, perhaps
hidden in shadowed areas on poultry carcasses at the processing plant, may now
be easier to detect. A newly patented, high-tech imaging system uses what's
known as hyperspectral imaging to scan poultry carcass surfaces to find
contaminants.
That's according to laboratory tests in which
the ARS inventors of the sophisticated system operated it at a test speed of
140 birds per minute--approximately the processing speed used today in U.S.
poultry plants.
The researchers, based at the Richard B.
Russell Research Center, have now entered into a cooperative research and
development agreement with Stork Gamco, Inc., Gainesville, Ga. The purpose? To
develop and test the system for use in commercial poultry or meat processing
plants.
The detection system is expected to more
reliably locate potential food safety problems, reduce processing delays and
save processing expenses.
For more information, contact
W. Robert Windham, (706)
546-3513, USDA-ARS Richard B. Russell
Research Center, Athens, GA.
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