Missouri is one of the top producers of corn in the United States, and researchers are hoping to add to the varieties of corn grown at home, including purple corn.
Purple corn, commonly known as maiz morado, is found in the highlands of South America. The corn is edible, and its kernels have more antioxidants than blueberries, as well as other natural chemicals beneficial for health and nutrition.
Assistant Professor Pavel Somavat and his team are analyzing the varieties of corn to compare their nutritional properties including blue, red and purple corn to the traditional yellow dent corn. The value includes antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and anti-obesity properties.
Sherry Flint-Garcia, a plant geneticist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has grown the varieties of corn both for her own projects and to assist Somavat’s work for the past three years.
“I work on all kinds of things that have to do with using heirloom corn, specifically by breeding all different kinds of varieties for different human uses,” Flint-Garcia said. “And so with Dr. Somavat’s project specifically, he wanted to study different corn varieties that have different pigmentation. He says he’d like to try 20 new things every year, so I try to plant 20 different things that he’s never looked at.”
But purple corn does not grow well in Missouri’s climate. Purple corn might have a slew of advantages to promote its use in the United States, but without a high yield, it won’t be of much interest to the food industry. Dr. Somavat hopes to change that with Flint-Garcia’s help.
“We’re identifying the best varieties and providing feedback she uses to decide which varieties to breed for the next cycle,” Somavat said. “We’re looking at the make-up of the corn and how it responds to Midwestern climates, as well as how we can add value to the corn by developing new uses for it.”
Ravinder Kumar is a PhD student in food science at the University of Missouri who works with Flint-Garcia in the breeding department, evaluating the similarities and differences between the crossbreeds of homegrown yellow dent corn and the colorful corn from South America. Kumar said great progress has been made, but the yields still aren’t high enough while carrying the same benefits as the original purple corn.
“We have had three iterations tested for these varieties,” Kumar said. “What we are observing is that there are some varieties which have similar traits to the varieties grown in the highlands of South America. What’s still lacking is we need varieties that have almost similar amounts of polyphenols, or that can be grown in the United States.”
Polyphenols are compounds that traditionally contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, similar to antioxidants in blueberries.
Another piece of their research is extracting the pigments from the corn to use as a food dye substitute.
This would act as a natural dye, instead of artificial colors like Red Dye 40, which is found in many foods like dairy products, sweets and beverages. Studies link Red Dye 40 to migraines, allergic reactions and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The team has also researched using purple corn to create biodegradable plastic, serving as a substitute for meat packaging and other uses in the food industry.
Somavat said he has hopes for the untapped benefits that purple corn -- and all its other colors -- can bring to the table, even if it’s just adding a spot of color to the dinner plate.
