Scientists have cracked the genetic code for Golden Delicious, a variety of apple, that paves the way to crunchier, juicier, healthier fruits. The breakthrough is already being used to breed red-hued apples with more anti-oxidants, known for a host of health benefits. Researcher Roger Hellens of New Zealand firm Plant & Food Research said: “We will be able to identify the genes which control the characteristics that our sensory scientists have identified as most desired by consumers – crispiness, juiciness and flavour.”

More than 60 million tonnes of apples are grown worldwide each year, the equivalent of nine kilos per person, reports the Daily Mail.

Although apple farmers try to breed only the best plants, they are able to know the outcome only eight years later, thanks to the slow growth of apple tree.

Now breeders will be able to screen seedlings for key genes, vastly speeding up

the process. Traits that hamper production can also be more easily bred out, reports the journal Nature Genetics.

A sweeter version is under development and could be on sale by 2015. Other plans include boosting the amounts of an appetite-suppressing compound already present in apples.

The decoding of the apple’s DNA by a team of almost 100 scientists from five different countries has also shed new light on its roots.

The finding indicates a plant that evolved into the apple tree was born around 65 million years ago, when a comet is believed to have exterminated the dinosaurs.

The extra genes sent the apple along a different evolutionary path from peaches, raspberries, strawberries and other related fruits.

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Suffering from hypertension? Try out garlic as an adjunct to conventional drugs, for a new study claims that it controls blood pressure levels.

An international team, led by Dr Karin Ried at the University of Adelaide, has found garlic extract can help treat high blood pressure, the ‘Maturitas’ scientific journal reported in its latest edition.

However, raw or cooked garlic, and garlic powder are not as effective in treating high blood pressure as aged garlic extract, says the study.

In a 12-week trial, involving 50 people, the team found that those with systolic blood pressure above 140 who took aged garlic extract capsules experienced an average systolic blood pressure 10.2 mm Hg lower than the control group, who took a placebo.

“This reduction is clinically significant, as a drop in systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 8 to 20 per cent.

“Garlic is thought to have an antihypertensive effect because it stimulates production of certain chemical substances called nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which helps relax blood vessels,” Dr Ried said.

He added: “High blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. About 30 per cent of adults in Australia are hypertensive, yet only half that number are on BP medication and 60 per cent of those who are receiving treatment are inadequately controlled.

“This shows there is plenty of scope to explore the use of garlic as an effective treatment option for people suffering hypertension.”

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Eating mouth-numbing foods such as fiery chilli peppers could help lower   blood pressure, a new study has suggested.

Researchers found the active ingredient that gives the peppers their heat – a compound known as capsaicin – also relaxes the blood vessels.

Hypertensive rats were fed a diet rich in capsaicin, which is found in chilli peppers, by scientists at the Third Military Medical University in China.

This reduced the rats’ blood pressure over time, according to the study published in this month’s Cell Metabolism journal.

The ingredient works by activating a receptor channel found in the lining of blood vessels. This leads to a rise in production of nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule known to protect blood vessels against inflammation and dysfunction.

The study was not the first to look for a molecular link between capsaicin and lower blood pressure, but earlier studies were based on acute or short-term exposure to the chemical, rather than long-term treatment with capsaicin on rodents with high blood pressure.

Researchers said further studies would be needed to see how many chillis would need to be eaten each day to have a positive impact on humans.

Professor Zhiming Zhu, who led the study, noted that hypertension affected more than 20 per cent of people in north-eastern china compared to 10 to 14 per cent in south-western China where the residents eat ‘hot and spicy foodswith a lot of chilli peppers.’

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Indian farmers are injecting a hormone sometimes given to women during childbirth into vegetables and fruits to make the produce ripen sooner and gain weight, an Indian minister has warned.

In a letter to health ministry officials seen by AFP, junior health minister Dinesh Trivedi demanded a nationwide crackdown on the illegal use of the prescription drug Oxytocin, which he said can cause serious health problems if taken over a long period.

“These hormones may cause irreparable damage to our health, if taken through these vegetables, over a period of time,” he stated, listing heart disorders, sterility, nervous breakdowns and memory loss as possible side effects.

He said the hormone, used to induce childbirth and lactation in women, is injected in pumpkin, watermelon, aubergine and cucumber plants to make them bear bigger fruit.

The injection can also be administered to fruit and vegetables just before they come to market to make them appear more plump and fresher.

Though the drug is banned for use in animals, it is often illegally used in cattle to boost milk production.

India’s health ministry banned Oxyotocin for public sale after a series of media reports about the drug being administered to underage girls in rural Rajasthan to make them look older before their marriages.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, sex workers are often given the steroid drug Oradexon, a form of Oxytocin, for the same reason.

Despite the ban on public sales of the drug in India, the hormone is still easily available from fertiliser and pesticide vendors, an official in the health ministry told AFP.

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