N.C. State: Muscadine Powder Developed for U.S. Army
http://momdelicious.wordpress.com/2013/06/01/n-c-state-muscadine-powder-developed-for-u-s-army/
North Carolina State University has gained support from the U.S. Army to create functional food ingredients from fruits and vegetables that will be used to develop healthier, more portable combat rations for soldiers. Researchers with N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI), located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, are infusing protein powders and flours, the kinds found at health and nutrition stores, with health-promoting compounds from kale greens and muscadine grapes.
It starts with fresh produce. Using a proprietary technology developed by N.C. State and Rutgers universities, Lila’s team of PHHI researchers extract healthy compounds from muscadine grapes, like anthocyanins, the pigments that give produce its blue, purple or red color and combat chronic diseases and cancer, as well as compounds from kale, like glucosinolates that provide cancer-fighting properties.
http://plantsforhumanhealth.ncsu.edu/2013/05/27/n-c-state-researchers-create-fruit-vegetable-infused-ingredients-for-u-s-army-rations/
N.C. State Researchers Create Fruit, Vegetable-infused Ingredients for U.S. Army Rations
Posted on May 27, 2013
“North Carolina State University has gained support from the U.S. Army to create functional food ingredients from fruits and vegetables that will be used to develop healthier, more portable combat rations for soldiers. Researchers with N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI), located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, are infusing protein powders and flours, the kinds found at health and nutrition stores, with health-promoting compounds from kale greens and muscadine grapes.”
“The research addresses a critical military challenge: how to provide balanced diets (inclusive of fruits and vegetables) to troops in the field that will have taste appeal while still maintaining shelf life, portability and health-protective functionality. The answer, PHHI researchers believe, lies within a proprietary technology they’re using to develop nutrient-enhanced food ingredients, which can then be used to make drinks, power bars, cookies and other healthy snacks for soldiers.”
The article describes the “strong relationship between strenuous physical activity and mental stress – common experiences for many military soldiers – and inflammation and negative immune system responses, which in turn can increase the risk of injury and poor mental and physical performance,” and explains that “Combat rations … supplemented with natural, safe and effective fruit and vegetable compounds may counteract some of those negative health impacts and reduce the risk of experiencing them, according to Dr. Mary Ann Lila, PHHI director and project research coordinator.”
Later in the article, Dr. Lila says that, “Natural compounds found in fruits and vegetables can help increase physical and cognitive capacity, improve immune function and inhibit chronic disease development in soldiers.”
The PHHI focus is on extracting “healthy compounds from muscadine grapes, like anthocyanins, the pigments that give produce its blue, purple or red color and combat chronic diseases and cancer, as well as compounds from kale, like glucosinolates that provide cancer-fighting properties.”
About the Plants for Human Health Institute
“The N.C. State University Plants for Human Health Institute is leading the discovery and delivery of innovative plant-based solutions to advance human health. N.C. Cooperative Extension serves as the outreach component of the institute, which is part of the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. The campus is a public-private venture including eight universities, one community college, the David H. Murdock Research Institute (DHMRI) and corporate entities that collaborate to advance the fields of human health, nutrition and agriculture.“
Muscadine Health Research.com 