Source: USDA/ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs

Here's good news for people who enjoy eating eggplant: this hefty veggie contains high levels of chlorogenic acid, one of the most powerful antioxidants produced in plants. Antioxidants are compounds that may protect the body against oxidative damage caused by molecules called oxygen free radicals.

In examining a range of commercially grown eggplant and related species, ARS scientists in Beltsville, Md., isolated and measured the levels of chlorogenic acid and more than a dozen other antioxidants that belong to the same chemical group. And, they found two compounds in this family that hadn't previously been isolated from a green plant (June 2003, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 51, pp. 3448-3454; September 2003, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, vol. 128, pp. 704-710).

Plant breeders can use the findings to boost the nutritional value of tomorrow's commercially grown eggplant.

For more information, contact John R. Stommel, (301) 504-5583; USDA-ARS Vegetable Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, or Bruce D. Whitaker, (301) 504-6984; USDA-ARS Produce Quality and Safety Laboratory, Beltsville, MD.