Many crop species are able to hybridize with related weedy or wild relatives, which could lead to transfer of cultivar genes, and among them transgenes, into wild populations. It is not clear, however, whether the hybrids and their descendants are able to survive and reproduce in natural habitats, as inherited cultivar traits may be maladaptive under such conditions. To test this, we produced h...

Fibre-mediated physiological effects of raw and processed carrots were investigated in twenty-four young women under strict dietary control in two randomized crossover studies. For 3 weeks between 405 and 688 g of either raw frozen, blanched or canned carrots (first study), or raw or raw frozen carrots (second study) were consumed in addition to a low-fibre basal diet. Carrots provided 15 g die...

This study assessed the concentrations of three falcarinol-type polyacetylenes (falcarinol, falcarindiol, falcarindiol-3-acetate) in carrots and the correlations between these and different soil traits. A total of 144 carrot samples, from three different harvests taken a single season, were analysed in terms of their polyacetylene concentrations and root development. On one of the harvesting oc...

Six green leafy vegetables and herbs - spinach, amaranth, bengal gram, cauliflower, mint, coriander and carrots - were analyzed for moisture, protein, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, total iron, ionizable iron (as % of total iron) in vitro iron (% of total iron), copper, manganese and zinc. Moisture content of the leaves and carrots varied from 75.1 percent (bengal gram) to 95.4 percent (carrot) ...

Background: Lutein is a hydroxy-carotenoid constituting the macular pigment of the human retina. Increasing lutein intake from foods could increase the density of this pigment and decrease the risk of developing macular degeneration. Yellow carrots are a novel food source that could increase lutein consumption. Objective: We evaluated and compared lutein uptake and clearance in humans from gene...

Food products containing carrots were analyzed for benzene contamination using headspace gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Of 82 commercial samples, 88% contained benzene above the detection limit of 0.04 μg/kg. Canned and jarred carrots contained 0.2 μg/kg of benzene on average. Higher levels were found in jarred baby foods containing carrots (0.9 μg/kg on average). The hig...

A proposed mechanism of white discoloration development on peeled carrots included both physical and physiological responses to wounding. The physical response is a color change due to reversible surface dehydration. This study was performed at 2.5 and 10°C using a mode1 system controlling relative humidity, at 33, 75 or 98%, and a commercial system with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic ...

BACKGROUND Beliefs about the eating behaviour of others (perceived eating norms) have been shown to influence eating behaviour in adults, but no research has examined whether young children are motivated by perceived eating norms. FINDINGS Here we investigated the effect on vegetable intake of exposing children to information about the vegetable intake of other children. One hundred and forty...