Scientists at the John Innes Centre have developed a new strain of genetically modified tomatoes that are able to efficiently produce industrial volumes of natural disease-fighting compounds such as Resveratrol and Genistein. This process could also be used to grow other natural chemicals in tomatoes.
Resveratrol is a member of the phenylpropanoids; an antioxidant found in grapes (when processed also in red wine), which has been reported to increase the lifespan of animals in certain animal studies. It may also be an effective supplement to fight cancer, heart conditions, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, but these claims are yet to be scientifically proven as there are still mixed opinions on the effects of Resveratrol. The researchers have been able to produce a tomato that has the equivalent amount of Resveratrol as fifty bottles of red wine.