US universities to launch phytochemical course

In the U.S leading cancer researchers have agreed to help teach a university course this spring that explores the health benefits of fruits and Vegetables, the New Orleans Times reports this week. Sixteen medical and agricultural researchers, professors, biochemists and nutritionists will provide lectures from their respective institutions across the country via interactive video conferencing to students at 10 locations across Texas. The lecture series, "Phytochemicals in Fruits and Vegetables to Improve Human Health," is the brainchild of Dr. Bhimu Patil, a post-harvest physiologist at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Citrus Centre at Weslaco. The course will investigate how phytochemicals react to different human diseases, how to enhance these functional compounds through agricultural practices, and what the current information status is of these compounds that prevent human diseases.