タイトルまたは説明

Purple corn is fast approaching classification as a functional food—an integral component of the diet that provides energy and essential nutrients. Researchers in the fields of food and nutrition are intensely searching for functional foods in almost every corner of the world and from a diversity of plants. Examples include purple corn (Zea mays L., Poaceae), green tea (Camellia sinensis [L.] Kuntze, Theaceae), soy isoflavones (Glycine max [L.] Merr., Fabaceae), various nuts, plus various other natural substances in the human diet containing antioxidant and other substances with alleged or proven potential disease-preventive properties.

Purple corn (frequently referred to as blue corn) is botanically the same species as regular table corn. Yet by a twist of nature, this corn produces kernels with one of the deepest shades of purple found anywhere in the plant kingdom. Research has shown that purple corn contains cell-protecting antioxidants with the ability to inhibit carcinogen-induced tumors in rats. Many plant-derived substances are believed to show these properties, but few have also demonstrated anti-inflammatory capabilities and the potential to help prevent obesity.

The kernels of purple corn (maiz morado in Spanish) have long been used by the people of the Peruvian Andes to color foods and beverages, a practice just beginning to become popularized in the industrialized world. They also make a fermented/alcoholic drink from the kernels which they call chicha morada.1