Photo source: Dr. Lois Englberger taken in Pohnpei,
Federated States of Micronesia. |
At first glance it appears to be an oversized carrot, but upon
closer inspection you will find it's really a banana. This brilliantly
colored banana was found to contain an abundance of precursors to
vitamin A. Because of this researchers are planning to use it as
a form of defense against blindness for the children in the Pacific
islands of Micronesia.
This unique-looking carrot that was nicknamed "karat"
due to its brilliant orange hue isn't a new finding in Micronesia,
as it has been used there for centuries as a weaning device to help
children switch over to eating solid foods.
Now due to the increasing popularity of imported foods, it has
become a rarity in the Micronesia islands.
Researchers found these orange bananas contained significantly
high levels of beta-carotene, which is converted by the body to
vitamin A. Researchers stated their present goals are to distribute
these bananas to children who show signs of vitamin A deficiency
to help with the prevention of certain types of blindness.
In a study of carotenoid levels of 21 cultivars of native bananas,
researchers discovered that 15 of them were packed with enough vitamin
A to meet nearly half the recommended daily intake amount when included
as part of a typical diet. Out of all the carrots studied, the karat
bananas were found to contain over 25 times the amount of beta-carotene
as the traditional Cavendish banana.
Although they could be consumed ripe and raw, researchers discovered
that steam-boiling karats resulted in more carotenoids available
to the body.
New
Scientist July 7, 2004
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