Excerpt from the story originally published in the Dec. 2011/Jan. 2012 issue of COSMOS magazine. COSMOS is an international science publication located in Sydney, Australia.

(Story not available online – Link to COSMOS)

The Inuit, whose ancestors arrived in the (Arctic) region thousands of years ago, have been using berries in traditional healing for centuries. These berries are more than a resource for food and health; they are a prime source of connection to the Inuit’s surroundings and to each other.

In 2005, Dr. Mary Ann Lila, director of the Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University, was eager to explore the Arctic wilderness to see if these berries offered benefits as yet untapped by modern research. Lila’s interest in berries had seen her help uncover the cancer-preventing potential of the black chokeberry and the high antioxidant levels of blackberries. The years of research had also shown Lila the crucial role that environmental stress plays in forming the secondary phytochemicals in wild berries.

Extracting the bioactive compounds in both ripe and unripe berries, Lila and her team analyzed how phytochemicals accrued through the ripening process to determine the environment’s influence on their development. Among the five species of wild berries collected, blackberries from Point Hope (Alaska) contained more than 4 mg of anthocyanin per gram of fruit, a higher concentration than any other wild berry Lila has studied.

The deep hues of berries – blues, purples, reds – are key, explains Lila. “Your grandmother always told you to eat a variety of colors,” she says. “She knew what she was talking about, but no one knew why.”

(The Dec. 2011/Jan. 2012 issue, including the full article, may be purchased at www.cosmosmagazine.com.)

Excerpt from a story published by the Charlotte Business Journal on November 8, 2011.
(Link to original story)

N.C. State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute in Kannapolis has been awarded $100,000 from Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mary Ann Lila, director of the institute, will conduct a global-health research project focused on improving nutrition through functional-food ingredients, which can be incorporated into products.

The plant institute is part of the N.C. Research Campus, a 350-acre life-sciences hub focused on health, nutrition and agriculture.

Lila’s project is one of 110 Grand Challenges Explorations grants announced Tuesday. Projects that receive funding show promise in tackling high-priority global health issues where solutions do not yet exist.

“We believe in the power of innovation — that a single bold idea can pioneer solutions to our greatest health and development challenges,” says Chris Wilson, director of global health discovery for Gates Foundation.

Lila will utilize technology that extracts plant compounds called phytochemicals from a range of fruits and vegetables. That process was developed in partnership with Rutgers University.

Excerpt from a story published in the September 13, 2011 issue of the Salisbury Post.
(Link to original story)

From fighting cancer to fighting wrinkles, the uber-healthy compound that gives red and purple fruits and vegetables their brilliant color will hit store shelves within a year as a new ingredient in food products and cosmetics, a lead scientist at the N.C. Research Campus says.

Dr. Mary Ann Lila announced Monday in Kannapolis that N.C. State University and Rutgers University scientists have figured out a way to extract and stabilize the natural substance, called anthocyanins, and sell it to food, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.

“The thing that’s so exciting about anthocyanins is that they almost seem too good to be true,” said Lila, director of N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute in Kannapolis.

Anthocyanins provide a wide range of health benefits, from preventing chronic disease to improving the appearance of skin. For years, people have consumed cranberry juice to cure urinary tract infections, thanks to the anthocyanins in cranberries.

Now, people who don’t want the sugar in cranberry juice or don’t like the tart taste instead can eat food containing the powdery, all-natural substance, Lila said.

The new ingredient could show up in cereals, granola bars, even gum, as well as cosmetic lotions and creams. Patented by Rutgers, the ingredient will be marketed and sold by Nutrasorb, a Rutgers spin-off headquartered in New Jersey with a subsidiary up and running at the N.C. Research Campus.

This story was aired on FOX Charlotte on September 12, 2011.
(View the Video/Original Story)

With new technology scientists at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis have found a way to grow a healthier fruit and vegetable. “Now that we have all this technology we might even find new vitamins in fruits we eat on a daily basis,” said Dr. Ivette Guzman a research associate.

Broccoli is one vegetable researchers hope they can pack with ten times more health benefit than what’s in grocery stores now. “Eventually what we’d like to do is develop these lines that have not only higher levels of these compounds but higher vitamins and have other compounds, so essentially a super broccoli,” said Dr. Allan Brown a Molecular Geneticist.

This is possible by identifying, extracting and then multiplying the most nutrient rich part of broccoli. Once researchers have identified just the right compounds they’re able to come to this growth chamber and breed a healthier broccoli plant, then it goes to the farm.

The super broccoli has properties that have been shown to lower rates of prostate cancer, heart disease and macular degeneration. Dr. Allan brown has spent most of his career working on this project and hopes it makes a difference, “I mean we’re not going to cure cancer here, but if we can contribute to lower rates of cancer, if we can even help a few people from getting lung cancer or prostate cancer by having a healthier broccoli that’s a pay off for me.”

Dr. Brown says the super broccoli is about 3-5 years away from being grown at local farms and available at the grocery store.

As Jeremy Pattison works to build a better strawberry for North Carolina, the N.C. State University plant breeder isn’t focusing solely on what would make a new cultivar attractive to farmers.

Through a unique arrangement with a leading culinary school, he’s also looking closely at traits that might matter most to consumers – things such as flavor, color, size and texture.

Pattison is at the center of the N.C. Strawberry Project, a joint venture of N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis and Johnson & Wales University, an internationally recognized culinary institution with a campus in Charlotte.

Funded by a grant from Golden LEAF, a nonprofit organization devoted to strengthening North Carolina’s economy, the strawberry project is believed to be the first project to connect university plant breeders, researchers and producers with the culinary world.

Through the one-year project, Pattison is gathering information he hopes will lead to a tastier strawberry that’s especially suited to North Carolina’s growing conditions. “We want a North Carolina brand that is clearly different than those that were developed for the mass market,” he said. “Ultimately, we want to increase the economic value and impact of N.C. strawberries while enhancing the eating experience.”

If all goes well, the varieties that Pattison comes up with will also extend North Carolina’s strawberry harvest season, which typically lasts five to eight weeks in April and May.

Project organizers are hoping that they can help grow the market for N.C. strawberries 25 percent, to about $26 million annually, through efforts involving research, education and outreach.

Pattison and other project leaders — food microbiologist Dr. Jim Oblinger and communications specialist Leah Chester-Davis — said that students and faculty at Johnson & Wales are giving the university valuable information about what culinary professionals and high-end restaurants look for in strawberries.

Because chefs can serve as intermediaries between farmers and consumers, their insight can be especially valuable, Chester-Davis said.

To gather and analyze their feedback on their preferences, N.C. State University hired Sensory Spectrum, which is also based at the N.C. Research Campus. The company conducts research into how consumers experience food and other products. In May, it led tests with produce buyers, chefs, JWU students and faculty and consumers.

Having Sensory Spectrum’s input in the early stages of a breeding program distinguishes the effort from traditional university breeding projects. Pattison said it could ultimately amplify the edge that North Carolina strawberry growers have when it comes to meeting local needs — and possibly lead to more national interest in North Carolina-grown strawberries.

“I feel that land-grant university research and extension has an excellent track record addressing the needs of the farmer,” Pattison said. “In this project, we are taking a more systematic approach to breeding fruit for quality — for consumer-preferred traits.”

The project has other goals, as well: Through a series of farm tours, it is helping tomorrow’s chefs and their instructors better understand the science and business of food production — particularly as it relates to local agriculture.

Oblinger, who is in charge of the project’s educational component, said that at the start of the project, JWU students were asked what industry leads North Carolina’s economy.

“They thought that banking is the leading industry, and information technology is up there,” Oblinger said. “But they think agriculture is not really all that important to the economy of North Carolina.”

The project teaches those students that agriculture and agribusiness — food, fiber and forestry — is actually the leader, generating $70 billion in value-added income for North Carolina each year. And strawberries — seen as a high-risk but also high-value alternative to tobacco — are an increasingly important part of that. North Carolina ranks fourth among the states in terms of the amount of strawberries produced, and most of them are sold locally.

The message was reinforced as the students travelled to local farms, met local farmers and saw university research at the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury. Chef Mark Allison, the dean of culinary education at Johnson & Wales in Charlotte and one of the project’s leaders, said that having this familiarity with local agriculture will help the students in their culinary careers.

In addition to enhancing the JWU students’ education and laying the groundwork that will lead to a better N.C. strawberry, the project also has a public education component, led by Extension media specialist Chester-Davis. She and her team of Kristen Bright and Justin Moore developed a website and a Facebook page for the N.C. Strawberry Project and have worked with news media representatives locally and nationwide to tell them about the project, to promote the students’ award-winning recipes and to spread the word that buying local produce guarantees the freshest product and keeps more food dollars in the local community.

The Produce Lady, aka Brenda Sutton, was a guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio’s “Morning Living” show on August 3, 2011. Sutton talked with host, Brian Kelsey, about seasonal fruits and vegetables, how to prepare fresh produce at home and tips for visiting farmers markets. The show broadcasts to an estimated 12 million people.

This was the third time The Produce Lady appeared as a guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Sutton previously discussed U-pick farms and fresh produce tips at home on August 2, 2010 and September 30, 2010, respectively.

Martha Stewart Living Radio can be found on Sirius Satellite Radio 112 or XM Satellite Radio 157. Visit the station’s website at www.marthastewart.com/radio.

Joe and Terry Graedon, with The People’s Pharmacy show that airs on NPR stations nationwide, interviewed Dr. Mary Ann Lila, director of the Plants for Human Health Institute, on Saturday, June 25, 2011. The segment re-aired on Sunday, June 26, 2011.

LISTEN to the segment – Dr. Lila’s interview begins at the 20:53 mark of the show.

The show aired on the following stations in North Carolina:

• Asheville, N.C. – WVPM FM
• Chapel Hill, N.C. – WUNC FM (91.5), Saturday, 7 A.M. and Sunday, 3 P.M. (www.wunc.org)
• Charlotte, N.C. – WFAE FM (90.7), Saturday, 7 A.M. and Sunday, 3 P.M. (www.wfae.org)
• Manteo, N.C. – WUND FM, 7 A.M.
• Rocky Mount, N.C. – WRQM FM, Saturday, 7 A.M.
• Roanoke Rapids, N.C. – WEZU FM (95.9), Sunday, 7 P.M.
• Winston-Salem, N.C. – WFDD FM, Sunday, 3 P.M.
• Winston-Salem, N.C. – WSNC FM (90.5), Tuesday, 7 P.M.

Dr. Lila, director of the Plants for Human Health Institute and David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor, studies health-enhancing compounds in blueberries and other berries and works with scientists and students around the world to explore natural products for biomedical use. She appeared on The Dr. Oz Show in May 2011 to discuss the multifaceted protection from cancer and other diseases that blueberries provide. (View Bio)

The People’s Pharmacy is an award-winning health talk show. The Graedons are authors of several books and also have a syndicated newspaper column that appears nationwide. They are interviewed frequently on national news shows. Joe is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Visit the The People’s Pharmacy website to learn more.

Excerpt from a story published in the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer on May 16, 2011.

Dr. Mary Ann Lila has four large upright freezers filled with berries – floor-to-ceiling bags of blueberries, red cranberries, black currants and purple muscadines. But these berries aren’t for making pies or jam.

A world-renowned berry expert, Lila studies the health benefits of blueberries and other berries as the head of N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute in Kannapolis, where what was once a textile mill is now a state-of-the-art research facility.

After her daily breakfast routine of blueberries and oatmeal, Lila heads to her research lab. There, high-tech chromatography machines hum and whir, and flasks of berry juice line the lab bench.

Berries provide big benefits in a small package, Lila said.

Although some say “superfruit” claims are overhyped, Lila says modern science backs them up, especially for berries. Studies suggest berries may help prevent disease, slow aging, enhance endurance and fight infection. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, Lila is trying to identify the specific compounds behind their medicinal powers and understand how they work.

“I might sound like a fanatic, but I think berries like blueberries and cranberries are just the ultimate food,” Lila said. “They’re small, but they’re jam-packed with a diversity of chemicals that combat so many human chronic diseases.”

Read the full article at:
Charlotte Observer
News & Observer (Raleigh)

Dr. Mary Ann Lila, director of the N.C. State University Plants for Human Health Institute, located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show” Thursday, May 5, 2011.

Watch the Segment

• Part 1 (2:51)
• Part 2 (4:22)

The show’s producers visited Dr. Lila’s lab on March 18 and then flew her to New York City on March 23 for the live taping of the show. The topic of the show was “cancer detectives.” Dr. Lila, director of the Plants for Human Health Institute and David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor, studies health-enhancing compounds in blueberries and other berries and works with scientists and students around the world to explore natural products for biomedical use. She appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to discuss the multifaceted protection from cancer and other diseases that blueberries provide.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD, is the Daytime Emmy Award-winning host of “The Dr. Oz Show.” He is vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Previously, he was the featured health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” In addition to belonging to every professional society for heart surgeons, Dr. Oz was named Forbes’ #3 most influential celebrity and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. The show airs on various network stations across North Carolina.

Excerpt from a story published in the March 6, 2011 issue of The New York Times Magazine.
(Link to original story)

One morning in early January, David Murdock awoke to an unsettling sensation. At first he didn’t recognize it and then he couldn’t believe it, because for years — decades, really — he maintained what was, in his immodest estimation, perfect health. But now there was this undeniable imperfection, a scratchiness and swollenness familiar only from the distant past. Incredibly, infuriatingly, he had a sore throat.

“I never have anything go wrong,” he said later. “Never have a backache. Never have a headache. Never have anything else.” This would make him a lucky man no matter his age. Because he is 87, it makes him an unusually robust specimen, which is what he must be if he is to defy the odds (and maybe even the gods) and live as long as he intends to. He wants to reach 125, and sees no reason he can’t, provided that he continues eating the way he has for the last quarter century: with a methodical, messianic correctness that he believes can, and will, ward off major disease and minor ailment alike.

(From page 4):

The institute and hotel are meant to turn a profit — and do, a small one — and they underscore how interconnected Murdock’s evangelism and business interests have become. As does the research campus. Dole is the world’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables, so studies into their health benefits have a huge potential upside for the company. Many of the foods under the microscope are foods Dole sells.

Blueberries, for example. Murdock lured Mary Ann Lila, a world-renowned blueberry authority, to the research campus from the University of Illinois, where, she says, she simply didn’t have anything like the instant access to specialized equipment that Murdock has made possible. The campus has a particularly impressive lineup of high-powered nuclear magnetic-resonance machines, which analyze compounds on a molecular level. Lila — technically affiliated now with North Carolina State University — and colleagues are using the fastest of these to look for the unknown natural compounds in blueberries that will speed their efforts to maximize the fruit’s medicinal properties. They believe blueberries could help combat several diseases, including obesity.

Brittany Whitmire, coordinator of the N.C. Value Added Cost Share Program (NCVACS), was a guest on a N.C. News Network radio show on August 16, 2010. Whitmire talked with host, Bruce Ferrell, about the NCVACS program and the recently announced Family Farm Innovation Fund. The network broadcasts to an estimated 1.6 million people via more than 75 affiliate stations.

Interview Summary

Helping the family farm stay competitive. That is the focus of a program which allows farmers to upgrade equipment.

Brittany Whitmire, with the North Carolina Value-Added Cost Share Program said a fund of $650,000 is being made available to assist farmers and producers. “It’s designated for equipment cost share funding for both producers of value-added products and processors of value-added products who buy their raw commodities from North Carolina farmers,” said Whitmire.

The money for the program is being made available from several sources, including the Family Farm Innovation Fund and the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. More details can be found at www.ncmarketready.org.

Visit the N.C. News Network website at www.ncnn.com.

NC MarketReady, a program of North Carolina (NC) Cooperative Extension, was awarded nearly $100,000 in grant funding from the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to expand its Produce Lady program. The grant, focused on strengthening markets for farmers and educating consumers, provides funding through 2012.

The Produce Lady program is based at the NC Research Campus and will serve up new Web resources, healthy cooking demonstrations, an e-newsletter, online videos, and printed materials that promote North Carolina fruits and vegetables and the farmers who grow them.

Visitors to www.theproducelady.org will find videos that provide tips on selecting, storing, preparing and preserving fresh produce items; healthy recipes that use fruits and vegetables; nutritional facts and advice; and an event calendar for The Produce Lady’s latest appearances. Additional videos and resources will be added in the coming months. Beginning this fall, a new monthly e-newsletter will harvest the latest updates in one place for subscribers.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – N.C. State University will host free seminars at the North Carolina Research Campus in May to give the public a better understanding of research that’s under way at the complex.

Seminars will be 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Event Room. The schedule:

May 4, “The Fresh Produce Safety Initiative in North Carolina.”

May 11, “BioExploration for Natural Health Products: From the Cloud Forests of Ecuador to the Hidden Corners of Your Own Backyard.”

May 18, “Value-Added Agriculture: An Emerging Sector of N.C. Agriculture.”

May 25, “Meet The Produce Lady.”Details: 704-250-5400; PHHI_info@ncsu.edu.

Story originally published March 8, 2010 in Greenhouse Management.
(Link to original story)

Tomato Growers Information Portal is a new Web portal designed for North Carolina tomato growers and extension agents. A virtual tour of the portal on March 10 will show attendees the online resources available including business management tools, the latest production guidelines and links to weather and climate data. N.C. St. Univ. vegetable production specialist Chris Gunter and other university tomato experts will discuss how to use the portal.

The Tomato Growers Information Portal was developed by N.C. MarketReady, a program of N.C. Cooperative Extension located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, with financial support from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and the Agricultural Advancement Consortium of The Rural Center.

The North Carolina Value-Added Cost Share (NCVACS) program, administered by N.C. MarketReady, is now accepting applications for the spring funding cycle, Equipment Cost Share.

This program is funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to support the development of value-added agricultural operations, an emerging sector of North Carolina agriculture.

A value-added agricultural product is a raw, agricultural commodity that has been changed in some manner so that it no longer can be returned to its original state. This change results in increased market value, allowing the producer to receive a higher price for these value-added products compared to the original commodity. Chopped lettuce, fruit jams and stone-ground corn meal are a few examples.

“The NCVACS guidelines broaden the definition of value-added beyond the traditional scope. It also includes non-standard production methods (such as organic), physical product segregation (keeping genetically modified (GM) corn separate from non-GM corn), generating farm-based renewable energy and some locally produced food products,” said Brittany Whitmire, program coordinator for NCVACS.

The NCVACS program works hand-in-hand with the USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) by reducing the costs associated with professional services and equipment purchases that are not funded by the USDA grant. The spring cost share cycle allows value-added producers to apply for equipment cost share funding. Applicants can seek to purchase new or used equipment with cost share funding. Equipment cost share awards will vary from 25 percent to 50 percent of the total cost of the equipment, up to a maximum of $25,000.

“There are very few places where farmers can find financial assistance to purchase the specialized equipment they need to add a value-added enterprise,” said Blake Brown, Hugh C. Kiger Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and member of the N.C. MarketReady team. “The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and North Carolina State University provide an opportunity for such assistance through the equipment cost share program of the North Carolina Value-Added Cost Share Program. We think this is an important contribution to help farms improve their viability by adding new enterprises profitably.”

Applications for NCVACS Equipment, spring 2010, are now available online at www.ncmarketready.org. Applications are due by March 30, 2010. Guidelines and a list of frequently asked questions can be found on the Web site. Award recipients will be notified by June 1, 2010.

For more information about NCVACS and VAPG, please visit www.ncmarketready.org and click on “Value-Added Cost Share” on the left menu bar.