MAIZE - A CRUCIAL STAPLE CROP THAT PROVIDES NEARLY 30% OF FOOD CALORIES TO MORE THAN 4.5 BILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE- IS A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF MACRONUTRIENTS, MICRONUTRIENTS, AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS THAT CAN HELP REDUCE NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY AND IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR INDIVIDUALS SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC DISORDERS. HOWEVER, THE NUTRITIONAL AND HEALTHBENEFITS OF MAIZE WERE OVERLOOKED DURING THE GENERATION OF MODERN MAIZE LINES, WHICH FOCUSED ON IMPROVING CROP YIELD RATHER THAN INCREASING THE CROP'S HEALTH-BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES. ANCESTRAL WILD MAIZE LINES RETAIN A VARIETY OF COMPOUNDS THAT ARE ABSENT FROM MODERN ELITE MAIZE LINES AND THAT POTENTIALLY EXHIBIT HEALTH-BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES, PRESENTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO RE-INTRODUCE ANCESTRAL HEALTH-BENEFICIAL TRAITS THAT CAN FURTHER ENHANCE THE NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF MODERN MAIZE KERNELS. IN THIS PROJECT, CONTENTS OF NUTRITIONAL AND POTENTIALLY HEALTH BENEFICIAL COMPOUNDS WILL BE DETERMINED IN KERNELS OF MAIZE WILD RELATIVES. THE KERNELS WILL BE DIGESTED TO SIMULATE HUMAN GASTROINTESTINAL DIGESTION AND THE CHANGES IN CHEMICAL CONTENTS AND THEIR ANTIOXIDATIVE AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY BIOACTIVITIES WILL BE INVESTIGATED. BY COMPARING CHEMICAL CONTENTS AND BIOACITIVIES IN THE KERNELS OF MODERN MAIZE CULTIVARS AND THEIR WILD RELATIVES, CHEMICALS CORRELATED WITH BIOACTIVITIES WILL BE IDENTIFIED TO BE BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS. ADDITIONALLY, BY ANALYZING THE CO-OCCURANCE OF THE GENOMIC SEQUENCES OF THESE PLANT SPECIES WITH BIOACTIVITIES, THE GENES UNDERLYING THE HEALTH BENEFITS WILL ALSO BE IDENTIFIED. THESE RESULTS WILL ALLOW US TO GENERATE MAIZE HYBRIDS FOR HEALTH-BENEFICIAL FOOD CORN PRODUCTS BY GENETIC BIOFORTIFICATION. AS MAIZE IS A MAJOR STAPLE CROP WORLDWIDE, BIOFORTIFIED CORN WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY, WELLNESS OF U.S. CITIZENS, AND THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FOOD CORN PRODUCTS. ANTIOXIDATIVE AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITIES WILL BE FOCUSED SINCE OXIDATIVE STRESS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ARE THE PRIMARY FACTORS THAT LEAD TO HUMAN METABOLIC DISORDERS. CONTINUOUS DIETARY INTAKE OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM STAPLE FOODS WILL PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN PREVENTING THESE CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES AND THE ASSOCIATED METABOLIC DISORDERS. AS NEARLY 60 MILLION INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES SUFFER FROM CHRONIC METABOLIC DISORDERS, THE HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BIOFORTIFIED CORN COULD BE SIGNIFICANT.