Web edition: July 18, 2007

Our Food For Thought column recently published two offerings on health-related findings about genistein, a soybean constituent. Ever wonder what that chemical looks like? Or how about capsaicin—the spicy agent in hot chilies being explored as a painkiller, lycopene—the red pigment in watermelons that may protect our skin against harmful ultraviolet rays, or sulforaphane—a trace constituent of broccoli that can turn on enzymes that may help prevent cancer? Florida State University microscopists have created a dazzling image gallery of these and other purified dietary phytochemicals, all photographed in their crystalline form.

Go to: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/phytochemicals