Features Production Research
Enzyme in asparagus detoxifies common pesticide

If you’re concerned about
pesticide residues in your food, you might try eating more asparagus:
researchers at the University of California-Davis have identified an
enzyme in the vegetable that appears to detoxify malathion, a commonly
used pesticide that can be dangerous to humans.

If you’re concerned about pesticide residues in your food, you might try eating more asparagus: researchers at the University of California-Davis have identified an enzyme in the vegetable that appears to detoxify malathion, a commonly used pesticide that can be dangerous to humans. The researchers compared rates of malathion degradation among extracts of carrot, kale, spinach, broccoli and asparagus under the same conditions and found that asparagus came out on top, reducing the malathion concentration to undetectable levels. Their study appeared in the September 22, 2004 print issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.