They may not be red but black tomatoes are just as tasty and can help ward off cancer, according to a plant expert. A plant expert grew the black tomatoes in a nursery in Devon, Britain.

The black fruit is among the very few plants that contain anthocyanins - a type of antioxidant that can ward off cancer. Experts believe that the compound can stave off diabetes as well. Anthocyanins are usually found in vegetables and fruits, according to experts, and are also effective in fighting obesity.

The tomatoes are not black all over though, reports say. When cut open, black tomatoes are still red on the inside and just as juicy.

Ray Brown who grew the tomato in his nursery in Newton Abbot said they have a "lovely flavour" and definitely taste like tomatoes. The 66-year-old received the seeds from a Plant World Seeds customer. According to Mr Brown, they were labelled "black tomato."

Mr Brown received the seeds last winter. "We couldn't believe that they are real," he recalls. Curious, the Newton Abbot resident planted the seeds in the spring. He added that he thought it was a joke but was "absolutely staggered" when they started bearing fruit.

The black tomatoes are believed to have come from Oregon State University, but there is still no confirmation from the campus. It is believed that they stemmed from the university's "Indigo Rose" project.

The jet black colour of the fruits stem from reaction to sunlight, experts say, but a genetic mutation was reportedly engineered by American scientists so that the fruit can have more antioxidants than red tomatoes.

"We are always looking for something original," Mr Brown told the Daily Mail. The grower also added that no one in Britain has "every (sic) produced black tomatoes" and "the closest they have got are brown ones and orange ones."

When ripe, the black tomatoes turn into jet black from their unripe colour of shiny, bluish purple. Although black, their bottoms often turn red, sources say. Its red cousin has lycopene which is deemed as another cancer-fighting compound.

The nursery currently has three of the plants and each has 20 jet black tomatoes.