The well-being of humans depends on plant foods. To live a healthy life, we have been advised to eat a diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. In recent years, phytonutrient has become a new buzzword in health and science news. So what are phytonutrients? Phytonutrients refer to chemical compounds that are produced in plants and function as an antioxidant, anti-tumor, and/or anti-cancer agents in humans. In plants, these chemicals can protect the host from microbial pathogens or herbivores. The three major classes of phytonutrients are phenolics, terpenoids, and alkaloids, according to their chemical structures. The objectives of this writing assignment are to research a topic on phytonutrients and present the results of the literature investigation in a paper. The goal is to gain a better understanding of how phytonutrients are made in plants, their functions in plant disease resistance, and their roles in human nutrition and health. This writing assignment will also provide a learning opportunity for gathering, interpreting, and documenting information as well as communicating them clearly.
Assignment
The executive director of the Food and Health program at PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is soliciting ideas for an educational series featuring phytonutrients. The primary audience of this TV program is K-6 students. Because you are very interested in this topic and have been following research on phytonutrients, you are considering submitting your ideas, in the form of a paper, to this program.
a. Choose one phytonutrient from the following list and use it as the focus of your paper.
3. Lycopene
c. Your paper should address the following five questions in separate sections:
(i) How do plants produce this phytonutrient? A brief introduction of simple starting compounds and their conversion to the selected phytonutrient is sufficient. Please also indicate which class of phytonutrients this chemical belongs to (i.e. phenolics, terpenoids, or alkaloids). A detailed description of the relevant biochemical reactions is not required.
(ii) What is the function of this phytonutrient in plants?
(iii) What are the major dietary sources for this phytonutrient?
(iv) What are the health-promoting properties of this phytonutrient in humans?
(v) How do you plan to communicate the above information to the target audience (i.e. K-6 students)? Please describe the strategies (i.e. describe your plans. Please do not include scripts of a TV program) that you will use to deliver this information (i.e. answers to questions i-iv) to the audience of K-6 students.
d. You are required to provide scientific evidence (at least 5 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals or books) when addressing questions (i) through (iv).
Quotations from Wikipedia or other non-peer-reviewed internet sources may be used, but do not count as references for this assignment.
List references alphabetically following the MLA (Modern Language Association) style.
Paper Format
1. The paper should be 5 – 6 pages long (double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman, 1-inch margins). All pages should be numbered. The references are not counted toward the paper length requirement, i.e. the paper should be 5-6 double-spaced pages plus a list of references.
2. Paper organization: a descriptive title, an abstract of the paper (no more than 200 words, clearly separated from the main text of the paper), the main body of the paper, and references.
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