Beneficial and Adverse Effects of Natural, Bioactive Dietary Chemicals on Human Health and Food Safety

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Issues related to food safety and to diet and health impact many stakeholders. The food supply in the U.S. is regarded as among the world's safest, having high nutritional quality and extremely low carryover of agricultural chemicals. Advances in food processing help to provide a high measure of safety against many potential toxic and microbiological hazards. Nevertheless, through their interactions with the public and agrifood industry, W-122 members have determined that an issue of paramount concern to stakeholders is the relationship between dietary chemicals and human health. This application represents a renewal of a regional project that has been in existence since 1971. The project focused initially on the identification of food-borne natural toxicants of specific interest to the Western region. W-122 now targets food safety and health issues that are important to all Americans. Research under W-122 continues to address foodborne toxicants, both natural and induced, but has evolved to include bioactive dietary constituents including anti-carcinogens, anti-toxicants, phytoestrogens, immune modulators and antimicrobials. <P>APPROACH: 1. To investigate the ability of three phytochemical groups - chlorophyll and its derivatives, indole-3-carbinol, and tea polyphenols - to modulate cancer risk. 2. Investigate the mechanisms through which selected food-borne toxicants (aflatoxins; dibenzo[a,l]pyrene; heterocyclic amine cooked meat mutagens) induce cancer. 3. Isolate novel beneficial substances which are ordinarily produced in small amounts and difficult to isolate and identify using a novel system involving elicitation in hairy roots, grown in culture. <P>PROGRESS: 2007/04 TO 2007/09<BR>
OUTPUTS: none <BR> PARTICIPANTS: Pratibha V. Nerurkar (principal investigator) and Graduate Assistant (to be hired) <BR> TARGET AUDIENCES: Type 2 diabetics, pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians