In the Vitapric Program, we connect the historical legacy of Hungarian paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) research with modern space biology experiments. Our work builds on the scientific legacy of Albert Szent-Györgyi (Nobel Prize-winning biochemist), whose research in Szeged (Hungary) highlighted the biochemical importance of paprika in the early twentieth century.
In the 1930s, Albert Szent-Györgyi demonstrated that paprika contains exceptionally high levels of vitamin C and succeeded in isolating large quantities of ascorbic acid from the plant. These studies contributed to the biochemical investigation of vitamins and to the understanding of biological oxidation processes. In 1937, Szent-Györgyi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries related to biological oxidation processes, with special regard to vitamin C and the catalysis of fumaric acid.
As a practical outcome of these discoveries, a paprika-based preparation called Vitapric was developed in the 1930s. Vitapric was a salted paprika purée with a high vitamin C content, and it represented an early example of using paprika as a nutritionally valuable food (functional food).
In the Vitapric Program, we expand this scientific legacy by studying plant growth in the closed cultivation systems of the International Space Station (ISS). Our research focuses on how selected plant species can be grown in controlled environments under microgravity conditions.
In our experiments, we examined paprika, radish, and wheat. These plant species provide complementary biological models that allow us to compare plant growth, metabolic changes, and stress responses in space. Our program is unique in that we not only studied the plants, but also developed a device for cultivating them.
An important element of our program is the HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) astronaut program, within which the Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu participated in scientific experiments conducted aboard the ISS.
Through the Vitapric Program, we connect the historical legacy of Hungarian paprika research with modern studies of space plant cultivation and closed ecological life support systems, which may play a key role in supporting future long-duration space missions.
