DR. Cathie Martin, a public scientist at the John Innes Center in England, developed a purple tomato that has high levels of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins have antioxidative and antimicrobial activities and high levels are found in foods such as blueberries and blackberries. There are purple-skinned tomatoes available on the market but they have much lower levels of anthocyanin's than Martin's GM tomatoes that are purple throughout the tomato.
Studies have shown that the purple tomatoes reduced cancer in rat studies. This purple tomato has also been demonstrated to have a longer shelf life, reducing food waste.
Information about the purple tomato:- Video from WSJ
- Video from Alliance for Science at Cornell University
- Nature Biotechnology Journal article abstract (full paper available through NC State University library
