Scientists are uncovering the best truffles, what makes the healthiest artichokes, and where the most nutritious olive oil is produced in Western Australia.
Some foods, such as olive oil, may only have one ingredient, but its quality and health benefits hinge on a multitude of cultivation and harvesting processes.
Now researchers at the Health Futures Institute are using mass spectrometry and nuclear resonance spectroscopy to profile WA’s finest fare and pinpoint where healthier foods are being made.
While spectrometry has long been used to map things at the molecular level, Murdoch is programming new smaller desktop machines to profile plant compounds, such as polyphenols, in food samples taken from across the state.
Most plant-based foods contain polyphenols, which have powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. In the plant, polyphenols protect against solar radiation or destructive pathogens.
But now a growing body of evidence suggests polyphenols may also prevent neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and some cancers in humans. More