Plant breeders need to be able to predict the future as their new cultivars take 10 years and frequently more from the first pollination to their commercial use. Breeding of tree fruits is a long term proposition. Thus in developing our breeding goals we need to be cognizant of lifestyle trends that affect the way people consume food. Within the food industry the consumer’s concern about health and their recognition of the connection between diet and health is a major driving force in the development of new products. Given this, many breeding programs are exploring the possibilities of developing “health enhanced” cultivars that have higher levels of beneficial phytochemicals.
The focus of my program is to establish the health benefits of the phytochemicals and the genetic variation for these traits of peaches and plums. I have collaborated with other scientists who specialize in the effects of nutrition and phytochemicals on human health such a Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos (Horticutural Sciences, Food Science), Dr. Weston Porter (breast cancer research, Veterinary Integrative Biosciences), Dr. Susanne Talcott (Nutrition and Food Science) and Dr. Nancy Turner (colon cancer researcher, Nutrition and Food Science). This has allowed us to survey the peach and plum germplasm for their phytochemical content and various bioactivities (antioxidant, cancer proliferation, LDL oxidation, inflammation response) using in vitro experimental systems. Collaborative work with Drs. Talcott and Turner is now looking at some of these bioactivities in animal experimental models.
Representative Publications:
• Noratto, G, W. Porter, D. H. Byrne, and L. Cisneros-Zevallos. 2009. Identifying
peach and plum polyphenols with chemopreventive potential against estrogen
independent breast cancer cells. J. Agric. Food Chem 57:5219-5226.
• Byrne, D. H., G. Noratto, L. Cisneros Zevallos, W. Porter and M. Vizzotto. 2009
Health benefits of peaches and plums. Acta Hort., 841: 267-274.