GOLDEN GLOBES

“We want participants to grow and allow them to evolve so that they may increase the levels of their beneficial compounds.”

Here’s an interesting citizen science project for tomato growers: plus a chance to get free heritage tomato seed.

Ihave been following, with great interest for several years, the work being done by Mark Christensen, Research Director of Whanganui’s Heritage Food Crops Research Trust (HFCRT), on the health benefits of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables; and I have written about it several times before.

To recap, for anyone not familiar with the back story, Mark has done a lot of work with tomatoes, focusing on specific orange heirloom varieties. Specifically, Mark is interested in the carotenoid lycopene which tomatoes contain, a powerful antioxidant that can reduce the incidence of heart disease and certain cancers, such as prostate cancer. Many tomatoes contain lycopene, but the lycopene found in red tomatoes is harder for the body to absorb.

“Studies have now shown that the lycopene in some orange tomatoes can be at least eight times more bioavailable than its red counterpart,” Mark explains. “If a compound is not bioavailable then it is not easily absorbed by the body and effectively passes straight through, conveying little benefit.”

As you may already know, cooking red tomatoes improves the body’s absorption of the lycopene, as does eating them with a source of fat. “Heating alters the lycopene structure and the requirement for fat is because lycopene is soluble in fat,” he says. “But the heirloom orange tomatoes that contain lycopene behave as you would expect and are better for you when eaten raw. The levels of this form of lycopene decline when heated. Human studies conducted for the Heritage Food Crops Research Trust with raw tomatoes showed considerably higher levels of lycopene absorption from the raw orange tomatoes and these levels stayed high in the blood for up to 48 hours (the duration of the study).”

A complication here is that not all orange tomatoes contain lycopene. Some contain Beta-carotene instead. The orange colour can come from either compound and the tomato will contain either one of these. “Fortunately, back in the days when it was possible to import tomato seeds quite easily, HFCRT searched the world for orange tomatoes and imported many varieties. They were all grown and tested, and now the Trust has a list of all the varieties it knows contain this bioavailable form of lycopene, called tetra-cislycopene (go to heritagefoodcrops. org.nz for the list).

In searching for orange tomatoes with high levels of lycopene, HFCRT has also been able to find tomatoes with high levels of Beta-carotene.

Beta-carotene is also a carotenoid, but one that converts to vitamin

A in the body. This is an essential vitamin for eye health; an absence of this vitamin can cause childhood blindness in the developing world. HFCRT has sent several of their Beta-carotene tomato selections to scientists in Egypt and Nigeria for research there, in the hope that these can one day be widely distributed to help alleviate this affliction.

Mark has, in the past, asked for

NZ Gardener readers to be part of the citizen science work undertaken by the Trust, and he is once again asking for volunteers to be involved with their tomato research. “The criterion is simply a keenness for growing tomatoes. HFCRT have some excellent tomato varieties. We want

participants to grow and allow them to evolve so that they may increase the levels of their beneficial compounds. The two tomatoes that we are keen to distribute are the ‘Golden Bell’, a beautiful bell-shaped average-sized orange tomato that is very high in tetra-cis-lycopene; and one of our high Beta-carotene varieties that we have named ‘Eye Drop’. A small golden tomato from a vigorous disease-resistant plant.”

If you would like to be a part of this project, Mark is asking you to plant at least several seeds of the ‘Golden Bell’, and/or ‘Eye Drop’ and just see if you detect any changes between the plants/fruit.

“Currently the ‘Golden Bell’ fruit have quite a distinctive bell shape, with the occasional fruit being larger at the base. The ‘Eye Drop’ tomatoes are golden in colour with a pink tinge around the top. If you think you have a plant that is different – please send us several ripe fruit and we will assess them and may get them tested.” But wait, there’s more. Researchers at HFCRT are trying to expand current scientific understanding “by incorporating ancient knowledge of the plant kingdom and the role played by nature spirits (elemental beings),” Mark says. “Even today science has a limited understanding of the medicinal properties of plants, and so it is fascinating to look at the vast body of knowledge accumulated by indigenous cultures. All cultures used to talk to plants (by thought), and had a high degree of respect for the plants in their environment. For example, our tradition of bringing a tree into our homes at Christmas originated from a pre-Christian ritual at the time of the winter solstice. Similarly, every ancient culture seems to have had an awareness of nature spirits even though they inhabit another dimension of time to our physical world.”

So Mark is asking for anyone willing to do so to also set an intention when they plant their seeds – and then wait to see what, if any impact it has. And how do you set an intention, you may ask?

“When you are ready to plant these seeds, water your containers first, then put the seeds in your mouth and allow them to mix with your saliva,” Mark explains. “Close your eyes and take a moment to connect with the seeds. In your mind, ask the seeds for permission to plant them and also ask permission of the elemental beings around the seeds.

“Then ask permission to work with the seeds and the elemental beings. Explain that you’d like to enhance the health-giving benefits of their fruit for the benefit of mankind, and that your energy of intent be used to assist in bringing this about. Thank the seeds and their elemental beings. Then sow the seeds into an already moist container, and don’t water them for two days.”

Holding seeds in your mouth and setting intentions is a pretty whacky idea – and might well be a bit too far out for some growers; Mark acknowledges this. However, he is interested in the science being done in a new field called epigenetics. This looks at how environmental factors can change how a DNA sequence is read.

“The hypothesis here is, could we as an environmental factor influence the development of a seed? The only way to find this out is to try it. Including the general public enables us to experiment on a much larger scale than the Trust could achieve on its own.

“The research the Trust has done already has shown there’s so much more we could learn about plants,” he says. “And I feel like the citizen science we are doing this year will help us learn even more.” ✤

If you want to be part of the research – either just growing the tomatoes and observing the plants, or following Mark’s seed-sowing method and setting an intention – send a stamped selfaddressed envelope to: Heritage Food Crops Research Trust, Open-Source Research, 126A Springvale Road, Whanganui 4501 and you’ll be sent seed for the two tomato varieties. Naturally, we’ll follow up on the results with Mark in the future!