Spanish scientists have used a biotech technique to significantly multiply the beta-carotene content of a lettuce, giving the leaves a nourishing boost as well as a golden hue.

Lettuce does not pack an overly nutritious punch. Mostly containing cellulose and water, it has very few phytonutrients compared to other vegetables.

A research group at the Research Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), has developed a method to significantly increase the phytonutrients in leafy green vegetables such as lettuce.

This includes the phytonutrient beta-carotene, a red-orange pigment found naturally in some plants that contain antioxidant properties that converts to vitamin A.

Using a novel biotech method, the researchers were able to pack 30 times more beta-carotene into the leaves of a lettuce through creating new places to store it. This massive accumulation of beta...