Veges star in fight for health

A "super-broccoli" that could help combat colon cancer and a tomato that may help fight heart disease and other ailments have been developed by United Kingdom scientists.

The broccoli is the work of Dr Richard Mithen at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England. The tomato, a product of genetic engineering that increases the beta carotene content of the fruit, is the work of an international team led by Dr Peter Bramley of London University.

The broccoli looks and tastes like the ordinary variety but contains 100 times more of the chemical sulphoraphane, which kills cancer-causing substances in food. The chemical is also found in brussels sprouts and cauliflower.

Dr Mithen, a plant biologist at the Government-funded John Innes Centre, crossed the English variety with a wild Sicilian species to create the new type of super-broccoli, which is expected to be on sale by 2002.

Trials are expected to begin next year to see how the vegetable succeeds in fighting colon cancer, a disease that kills approximately 25,000 UK citizens each year.

Research showed that the release of sulphoraphane into the gut steps up production of enzymes that destroy cancer-causing food substances.

It is now acknowledged that a third of cancers are probably caused by bad diet.

Increasing beta carotene three-fold in tomatoes produces a compound that is thought to help the body fight heart disease, cancer and degenerative eye problems.