Latest ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs Posted

The Agricultural Research Service has posted the April 2003 issue of Food & Nutrition Research Briefs on its web site at:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb

The Research Briefs present concise updates about ARS research in human nutrition, food freshness and safety, and related topics.

Included in the April 2003 issue:

• Watermelon rind--a summertime favorite for pickling--contains citrulline, a compound that may be extracted for important medical uses.
• A new, online database presents the amounts of healthful plant compounds--called flavonoids--that scientists have measured in apples, blueberries, onions, tea, and more than 200 other familiar foods.
• The ferritin form of iron from soybeans may be more bioavailable--that is, available for our bodies to use--than was previously thought.
• One strain of a helpful microbe known as Lactobacillus intermedius might help simplify production of mannitol, a popular, low-calorie sweetener.
• Contrary to what might have been expected, the density of hip and spinal bones of men participating in the 1996-2000 Framingham Heart Study did not seem to be related to their intake of vitamin K.
• Radio waves, combined with moderate heat, show promise for pasteurizing fruit juices.

Web visitors can sign up to have future issues of the Briefs automatically sent to them by e-mail.

ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Contact: Marcia Wood, USDA-ARS Information Staff, Beltsville, MD 20705; phone (301) 504-1662, fax (301) 504-1641.