New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Scientists Isolate Anti-cancer Compounds From Apple Peel

Date:
May 22, 2007
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Doctor Mom's admonition, "Don't peel your apple," is getting new scientific support from scientists in New York, who are reporting isolation of chemical compounds from apple peel that may be involved in the apple's beneficial health effects.
Share:
FULL STORY

Doctor Mom's admonition, "Don't peel your apple," is getting new scientific support from scientists in New York, who are reporting isolation of chemical compounds from apple peel that may be involved in the apple's beneficial health effects. 

In the study, Rui Hai Liu and Xiangjiu He point out that apple consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of chronic health problems such as lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Traditional advice on eating apple peel was based mainly on its fiber content, with peel packing about 75 percent of the dietary fiber in an apple. More recently, however, scientists have shown that the peel also contains most of the beneficial phytochemicals believed to be responsible for the apple-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away effect.

Until now, however, scientists had not identified the specific phytochemicals responsible for apple's anti-cancer effects. Xiangjiu He and Liu processed 231 pounds of Red Delicious apples and extracted phytochemicals from about 24 pounds of peel. They screened the compounds for anti-cancer effects in laboratory cultures of human liver, breast, and colon cancer cells. In doing so, they identified a group of compounds with "potent" anti-cancer effects.

Article: "Triterpenoids isolated from Apple Peels Have Potent Antiproliferative Activity and May be Partially Responsible for Apple's Anticancer Activity"

Their report is scheduled for publication in the May 30 issue of ACS's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Scientists Isolate Anti-cancer Compounds From Apple Peel." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 May 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521094818.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2007, May 22). Scientists Isolate Anti-cancer Compounds From Apple Peel. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 12, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521094818.htm
American Chemical Society. "Scientists Isolate Anti-cancer Compounds From Apple Peel." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521094818.htm (accessed December 12, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES