Nutraceutical Garden Event at Horticulture Center, Sept. 11

Better living through horticulture will be the theme of an event showcasing the Nutraceutical Garden at Illinois State University's Horticulture Center on Thursday, Sept. 11 from 5-7 p.m.  The free event will feature tours of the garden and information on the nutritional and medicinal properties of the plants it contains.

The event will also feature health and wellness information displays and a mini farmer's market with fresh vegetables and fruit for sale.  David Kopsell, assistant professor of agriculture at Illinois State, will give a brief presentation on the medicinal and nutritional properties of the herbs, grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and other plants grown in the garden. 

The term nutraceutical, combining the words nutrition and pharmaceutical, was coined in the 1980s to define a food that contains a medical health benefit beyond that of basic nutrition. 

The Illinois State Horticulture Center is located on Raab Road in Normal, just west of Lincoln College.  The Center features different themed gardens and a restored prairie.