Evening star., 1949-07-22
Vitomins Now Being Bred
Into Vegetables, Grains
Nutrition Foundation Reports Success
In Experiments with Corn, Tomatoes

Nutrition Foundation Reports Success
In Experiments with Corn, Tomatoes
By Thomas r. Henry
Vitamins are being bred into vegetables
and grains.
Among the more promising prospects is
that of essentially doubling the NICOTINE
acid content of corn by selective breeding.
according to reports just issued by the Nu-
triton Foundation.
The small amount of this essential vita
min in the grain was a major factor in the
great pellagra scourge Of the South where
corn bread was a major part of the rural
diet.
1t has been found. according to the re-
port. that different varieties of corn differ
from Is to 30 parts per million In NICOTINE
acid content and that this is In no way
affected by fertilizer or farming practices.
1t has been possible to breed varieties con-
tanning consistently at least Al parts per
million Of the essential vitamin and pros
poets seem good of increasing this to so
parts per million. There remains, however,
a long way to CO. for the high vitamin
corns also must be made hardy and high
yielders.
Results with Tomatoes.
Some Of the most successful work along
these lines has been in increasing the Vita
min A content of tomatoes Increases as
great as 12-fold have been obtained at diff
ferent breeding stations They are about as
large and the plants as hardy as in low
vitamin varieties.
The improved types have deep orange
color. They must not be confused, it is
warned, with the orange or orange-yellow
varieties now on the market
Red tomatoes have been bred, however.
which contain from five to seven times the
amount Of vitamin A found in most COM
mercial varieties. The new yellow varieties
are essentially equal to carrots and excel
most other food plants.
At least dozen malaria -suppressing drugs
now are available, either for actual treat
ment or large-scale investigation.
All are effective to some degree in reliev-
ing immediate attacks and preventing other
attacks as long as they are regularly ad-
miniStered, but none gives much promise
as permanent cure for the most prevalent
forms of what is still the worlds most de-
VaStatlng disease.
Such is the conclusion Of DR.. w. Clark
Cooper Of the United States Public Health
Services Laboratory Of Tropical Diseases.
This apparently is because the malaria
germs, in form not yet demonstrated, hib-
ornate inside cells of the body, chiefly in
liver and spleen, where the drugs cannot
reach them. While they are in the dormant
stage they cause no trouble. It is only
when they come out of their hiding places
that the characteristic chills and fever are
caused.
Atabrine Value Shown.
The best all-around results shown by tho
Public Health Service investigations are those
produced by chloroquine, synthetic drug
of the same general order as atabrine. The
latter was administered literally by the
ton to American soldiers In malaria areas
during the war
Chloroquine is somewhat simpler in chem
ical structure. It is markedly localized in
liver. spleen. kidney lungs and white
blood cells where it is ready to attack the
emerging germs It is excreted very slowly.
1t is relatively cheap and available in large
quantities. Acute attacks are promptly
stopped and there are few bad side re-
actions.
The latter constituted a major objection
to atabrine, which even caused temporary
mental symptoms In some cases.