Anthocyanins are naturally occurring pigments ubiquitously
present in plants and, as such, part of the human
diet. Owing to their biological activity, anthocyanins
have beneficial health effects but, unfortunately, are
not present in some important crop plants, such as
tomatoes. Recently, a ‘purple’ tomato, highly enriched
with anthocyanins, was produced by the ectopic expression
of two selected transcription factors from the ornamental
flower snapdragon. In addition to being enriched
with anthocyanin, these fruits also prolonged the life of
cancer-susceptible mice, suggesting that they have
additional health-promoting effects.