Develop super nutritious vegetables to protect the eyes

A new generation of vegetables with nutrients many times higher than today's vegetables may soon appear on your table.

Originally developed as a way to help astronauts protect their sight in space, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder (USA) can find a way to maximize nutrition for all types. Vegetables are growing on Earth.

Scientists will soon develop super-nutritious vegetables that have an eye-replenishing effect.

The team found that shining strong rays on spacecraft-grown vegetables could help increase the amount of zeaxanthin that protects the eyes.

One of the concerns for astronauts in long-term space flights is radiation-damaged eyes in space. But they can avoid radiation that damages the eyes by eating carotenoid-containing vegetables , especially zeaxanthin, which protect the eyes. Zeaxanthin can be supplemented in the form of drugs, but scientific research shows that the human body absorbs good carotenoids through food like green leafy vegetables.

Current research on the solution of growing vegetables in space is focusing on finding the most and fastest growing possible by using the maximum light, water and fertilizer. However, this way can affect nutrients in vegetables.

"There is a trade-off ," said Barbara Demmig-Adams, a research team member. 'When we cultivate the plants in the field, they will grow well, but not much nutrition. If they must protect themselves from pathogens or physical stress in the environment, plants will protect compounds that help them survive. And those are the antioxidants we need.

Plants produce zeaxanthin when their leaves absorb more sunlight than they use. This usually happens when plants are under pressure. For example, lack of water can limit the ability of plants to use up the sunlight they receive.

To keep excess light from destroying biochemicals, plants produce zeaxanthin, a compound that safely eliminates excess light.