London, Aug. 23: Zapping humble potatoes with electricity makes them even healthier, scientists have found.
The electric shot tricked the tubers into producing a slew of antioxidants known to keep the body and brain healthy.
“Scaled up to an industrial level, the low-cost process could give potatoes an image makeover,” reports the Daily Mail.
Other tests in the same study found that using ultrasound on potatoes had a similarly beneficial effect.
Dr Kazunori Hironaka, from Japan’s Obihiro University, said: “Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables are considered to be of nutritional importance in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, various cancers, diabetes and neurological diseases.”
Prompted by the observation that drought, bruising and natural challenges led to vegetables making more antioxidants, Dr Hironaka decided to probe man-made means.
Dr Hironaka said: “We found that there hadn’t been any research done on the healthy effects of using mechanical processes to stress vegetables. So we decided to evaluate the effect of electric treatments on potatoes.”
Whole potatoes were dipped in salty water, to help them conduct electricity, and then zapped with a small charge for up to half an hour. Tests revealed that antioxidant levels had risen by up to 60 per cent.
However, Dr Hironaka did not say whether the process affects the taste.