The scientists, based at the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) and East Malling Research in Kent, UK, have used tracers to identify where and when vitamin C is produced in blackcurrant bushes and how it moves throughout the plant. Using different strains of blackcurrant plant the team can compare and analyse how the vitamin accumulates in the blackcurrant fruit as well as the limiting factors.
To date the research has discovered that starch that accumulates after the berries have been harvested plays a key role in determining vitamin C production the following year. The scientists are now adjusting carbohydrate levels across the entire plant to alter starch deposits to explore how this affects vitamin levels and fruit quality.
Dr Robert Hancock, the research leader at SCRI, said: "Understanding how and when vitamin C is produced and accumulates in the blackcurrant plants has clear benefits for the consumer. We can grow crops that produce juice that will have higher levels of vitamin C and a better taste. Vitamin C is vital to tissue growth and repair and gives a big boost to the immune system but because it dissolves in water the body cannot store it.
"We need to eat vitamin C rich food every day but people just do not get enough. Blackcurrants contain more vitamin C than oranges so boosting that even further can only be a good thing. Blackcurrant production has soared in the UK in the last few years as demand has rocketed across Europe. If we can help to improve the crop we can give UK farmers a better, sustainable product to sell that will ensure they have a competitive edge."
The project has another two years to run and there are still some key questions to be explored. Dr Hancock explained: "We have explored whether vitamin production takes place in the leaves or the blackcurrant fruit and answered important questions about why levels drop off as fruit ripens, just when we are about to eat it. Now we want to develop the techniques and knowledge we need to accelerate the breeding of super blackcurrant bushes."
The team have received £1.2M in funding through the Horticulture LINK programme. This has contributions from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), GlaxoSmithKline, the Horticulture Development Council and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD).
Professor Nigel Brown, Director of Science and Technology at BBSRC, the UK's main public funder of research in the life sciences, commented: "BBSRC is a strong supporter of this type of research where basic plant science can help to improve the dietary and health benefits of popular foodstuffs. This is an example of how collaboration between different research groups with public and commercial research funding can produce real benefits for consumers, producers and the UK food industry."
Images are available on request
Contact
Dr Robert Hancock, Scottish Crop Research Institute
Tel: 01382 562731, email: rob.hancock@scri.ac.uk
BBSRC Media Office
Matt Goode, Tel: 01793 413299, email: matt.goode@bbsrc.ac.uk
Tracey Jewitt, Tel: 01793 414694, email: tracey.jewitt@bbsrc.ac.uk
Notes to Editors
An article on this research appears in the July 2006 issue of Business, the quarterly research highlights magazine of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The botanical name for the blackcurrant is Ribes nigrum.
Each blackcurrant bush takes three years to grow before a first full harvest.
The blackcurrant varieties used by GlaxoSmithKline to produce the fruit drink Ribena were bred at Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI).
It has been estimated that SCRI-bred blackcurrants account for more than 50 per cent of the global crop, and new varieties are launched most years.
SCRI's blackcurrants are all named after mountains in Scotland, so you will find Ben Hope, Ben Tirran and Ben Alder grown throughout the UK and beyond.
Blackcurrants are especially rich in vitamin C and, weight for weight, contain more than three times as much as an orange*.
* Ref: Food Standards Agency (2002) McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods (6th Summary Edition), Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.
Vitamin C is a water soluble nutrient that cannot be made or stored in great quantities by the human body. Therefore vitamin C rich foods need to be eaten regularly - preferably daily.
Vitamin C is required for tissue growth and repair. It aids iron absorption and can boost the immune system.
About BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around £350 million in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk
About Horticulture LINK
Horticulture LINK is a pre-commercial research programme aimed at supporting the sustainability of the home horticulture industry, integrated with wider environmental and consumer interests. It has resulted in the partnering of more than 170 companies and 30 research organisations through 40 practically-focussed project awards.
Horticulture LINK projects use robust science to solve key problems ranging from tackling pests and diseases to improving the supply and quality of fresh produce, reducing environmental pollution and reducing the costs of production. Horticulture LINK is part of the UK Government-wide LINK Scheme, aimed at promoting collaboration in a pre-competitive research area.