Lunchtime potato boost

The baked potato is about to take on a whole new meaning: scientists have discovered zapping the favoured lunchtime dish with electric shock and ultrasound increased the levels of antioxidants in the staple food.

Kazunori Hironaka found that immersing whole potatoes in water before treating them with ultrasound for five minutes could increase the polyphenol levels by 1.2 times, and other antioxidants by 1.6 times. Immersing potatoes salt solution for 10 seconds and the subjecting them to electric shocks for 10, 20 or even 30 minutes could also increase antioxidant levels.

“We found that treating to potatoes with ultrasound or electricity of 5-30 minutes increased the amounts of antioxidants – including phenols and chlorogenic acid – by as much as 50%,” Hironaka said.

“We knew from research done in the past that drought, bruising, and other stresses could stimulate the accumulation of beneficial phenolic compounds in fresh produces,” he explained, “We found that there hasn’t been any research on the healthful effects of using mechanical processes to stress vegetables. So we decided in this study to evaluate effect of ultrasound and electric treatments on polyphenols and other oxidants in potatoes.”

This work could have important commercial applications due to consumer interest in functional foods – that is food which may have health benefits beyond nutrition, like berries, nuts and chocolate.

“Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables are considered to be of nutritional importance in the prevention of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, various cancers, diabetes and neurological diseases.”