UNR professor’s work featured in magazine

Sunday, July 18, 1999 | 2:45 a.m.

Dean DellaPenna's research is centered on finding ways to modify the nutritional composition of plant foods, using genetic engineering to bolster a plant's vitamin and nutritional value.

DellaPenna said he has discovered ways to enhance specific nutritional components in plants, such as vitamin E, by as much as 10 times.

Studies have shown that increasing vitamin E in one's diet by 10 times the normal level could significantly decrease the chance of heart disease, he said.

"But it is difficult to get these amounts in our diet," he said.

"You would have to eat close to 2 lbs. of soy bean oil a day in order to get enough units of vitamin E to have an impact on heart disease," he said.

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