Published in the journal Current Biology, a study has concluded that vegetables are still alive even once they have been picked. The research shows that cabbages and other vegetable are capable of responding to their environment long after they’ve been picked – freaky!
Researchers bought supermarket cabbages and exposed some of them to periods of light and darkness similar to what occur on the farm, others were kept in either constant light or constant darkness. Those on a regular day/night cycle created up to three times as many glucosinolates as the other cabbages. These organic compounds help fend off pests in the wild — and, indeed, when the scientists exposed the cabbages to hungry caterpillars, the day/night cabbages were better able to fend them off. Glucosinolates are also anticarcinogenic.
To read more on this check out articles in The Telegraph, Mail Online and National Geographic.