News: A sweeter broccoli to cut heart diseases

Times of India

Feb 22, 2026

News: A sweeter broccoli to cut heart diseases

Image Source : Asian Chronicle

MELBOURNE: Scientists claimed to have developed a recent variety of broccoli that is not only grown naturally, but also tastes sweeter and has 40 per cent more anti-oxidants than the normal to reduce risks of heart disease and cancer.

Scientists at Victoria's Department of Primary Industries (DPI), have discovered "Booster Broccoli", a new variety that is the first in the group of super vegetables and contains more anti-oxidants than the usual variety, the ABC report said on Monday.

DPI's leading scientist Rod Jones said that the new broccoli is not the result of genetic engineering.

"All we've done is gone back and minded nature's natural diversity," he said.

Jones also said that DPI had partnerships with large companies and had tested 400 varieties of broccoli before selecting the one that had the highest anti-oxidant content and now they have decided to breed the "Booster Broccoli".

"It's also about improving the health of our population in general by getting people to eat vegetables that we know are very good for them," he added.

"It's a premium branded product so the returns to growers should be higher," Jones said.