U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Office of Communications FNRB 2020





- Human Nutrition Research
- Nutrient Data tools
- Food Composition and Nutrition Links
- BHNRC Seminar Series

Table place setting with apple. Title: Food and Nutrition Research Briefs. Link to FNRB home page January 2020  FNRB Index | Search | CommentsContentsHumans More Unique than Expected When It Comes to Digesting Fatty Meals
Innovative Cornstarch Makes Products Sustainable and 'Green'World's First True Red Spinach Variety Released
Dr. Alfonso Clavijo Named Director of USDA National Bio and Agro-Defense FacilityARS Efforts Should Help Ensure Our Wheat Supply
A New ARS Strawberry is a 'Keepsake'  Humans More Unique than Expected When It Comes to Digesting Fatty Meals
People have very individualized inflammatory responses to eating a high-fat meal. These were the somewhat unexpected results of a study published in the *Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry* by researchers at the Agricultural Research Service and their University of California-Davis colleagues. Inflammatory reactions of 20 volunteers were measured at 0, 3 and 6 hours after eating a standardized meal containing 38 percent fat. The volunteers' responses were completely unique. Each volunteer had both a unique amount of inflammatory response and a unique amount of time for when the responses peaked, up to 6 hours after eating.
Details
*Scientific contact: Danielle Lemay, (530) 752-4748, Western Human Nutrition Research Center, Davis California*.
Photo: A hamburger and french fries. People have very individualized inflammatory responses to a high-fat meal like the one pictured here. Back to Contents  World's First True Red Spinach Variety Released
USDA Red, the world's first true red spinach variety has been released by the Agricultural Research Service. Spinach has always been known as a green leafy vegetable. There are leafy vegetables often called red spinach,But these are actually red-leaf amaranths (*Amaranthus spp.*) or other plants such as Red Goosefoot (*Blitum rubrum*), not true spinach (*Spinacia oleracea*). There are currently some true ''red'' spinaches on the market, but the red color is limited to the veins of the leaves. USDA Red is the real thing: a red leafed true spinach. The antioxidant capacity of USDA Red was 42–53 percent higher than other spinach cultivars in five tests conducted over three years. The red color of USDA Red comes from the phytonutrient betacyanin rather than the more common anthocyanin. Betacyanin is a potent antioxidant.
Details
*Scientific contact: Beiquan Mou, (831) 755-2893, Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit, Salinas, California.*
Photo: Red spinach USDA Red, the first true red spinach variety. Back to Contents  ARS Efforts Should Help Ensure Our Wheat Supply
ARS researchers and their colleagues have identified a key gene that could be used as an important genetic resource by wheat breeders worldwide to address the constant challenge posed by Fusarium head blight (FHB). FHB, also known as "scab," thrives in warm and moist conditions and is becoming an increasing threat worldwide because of the unpredictable weather patterns brought on by climate change and an increasing trend toward more corn production and no-till farming, which both increase the availability of the pathogen in fields. The gene, known as *TaHRC*, plays a key role in conferring resistance to FHB. The findings may be applied to breeding improved varieties of wheat.
Details
*Scientific contact: Guihua Bai, (785) 532-1124, Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit, Manhattan, Kansas*.
Photo:  A healthy wheat line and a wheat line infected with Fusarium head blight.  vspace= A healthy wheat line (right) and a wheat line infected with "scab," or Fusarium head blight (left). Photo by Guihua Bai/ARS. Back to Contents  Innovative Cornstarch Makes Products Sustainable and 'Green'
An ARS research group has used steam-jet cooking and other processing methods to create a starch-vegetable-oil-based complex with a variety of useful properties. For example, by combining cornstarch with vegetable oil, the team created a stabilizer to be used in salad dressings, sauces, ice cream and other foods or beverages, as well as industrial products like paints, glues and cleaners. This stabilizer combines high-amylose starch with salts of fatty acids derived from vegetable oil fatty acids—rather than petroleum oil—producing emulsifiers, polymer films and coatings that could open the door to new products that leave behind a smaller environmental "footprint."
Details
*Scientific contact: Gordon Selling, (309) 681-6338, Plant Polymer Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, Illinois*.
Photo: A new ARS-developed, starch-based coating makes paper water resistant. A new ARS-developed, starch-based coating makes paper water resistant. Back to Contents  Dr. Alfonso Clavijo Named Director of USDA National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility
Alfonso Clavijo has been appointed as Director of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), a state-of-the-art USDA research and diagnostic facility designed to protect the nation's agricultural systems and stakeholders against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases. ARS partners with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to operate NBAF. The facility is currently under construction by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with commissioning scheduled for 2021. Clavijo, who started Oct. 13, 2019 will play a key role in ensuring the smooth transition of responsibility from DHS to USDA once the 574,000 square-foot facility becomes fully operational in 2023.
Details
*Scientific contact: Alfonso Clavijo, (785) 477-9006, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, Kansas.*
Photo: Cows grazing Back to Contents  A New ARS Strawberry is a 'Keepsake'
A new strawberry cultivar, Keepsake, was released by ARS. 'Keepsake' is a midseason, spring-bearing, or short-day strawberry (*Fragaria xananassa* Duch ex Rozier). The new strawberry is the first resulting from an increased effort by ARS to develop strawberries with improved shelf life. Compared with other current strawberry cultivars and breeding selections evaluated after 2 weeks in cold storage, 'Keepsake' had a low proportion of degraded and decayed fruits. The proportion of fruits degraded at one week was 29 percent lower than for all the other cultivars, including Chandler (81 percent) and Camarosa (93 percent). These fruits have outstanding flavor with very high soluble solids (sweetness) and moderate acidity (tartness). They also have a pleasing texture and are juicy when eaten.
Details
*Scientific contact: Kim Lewers, (301) 504-6768, Genetic Improvement of Fruits and Vegetables Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland.*
Photo: A new strawberry cultivar, Keepsake A new strawberry cultivar, Keepsake, is the first resulting from an increased effort by the Agricultural Research Service to develop strawberries with improved shelf life. Back to Contents


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov