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Fruit Is Even Better For You Than Previously Thought

Date:
August 28, 2009
Source:
Institute of Food Research
Summary:
Scientists have found that the polyphenol content of fruits has been underestimated. Polyphenol content in fruits usually refers to extractable polyphenols, but new research finds that nonextractable polyphenol content is up to five times higher than extractable compounds.
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An international team of scientists has found that the polyphenol content of fruits has been underestimated.

Polyphenol content in fruits usually refers to extractable polyphenols, but a Spanish scientist working at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich analysed apple, peach and nectarine. She found that nonextractable polyphenol content is up to five times higher than extractable compounds. This work has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

“These polyphenols need to be treated with acid to extract them from the cell walls of fruit in the lab,” said Sara Arranz from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Madrid. “If non-extractable polyphenols are not considered, the levels of beneficial polyphenols such as proanthocyanidins, ellagic acid and catechin are substantially underestimated.”

Dr Paul Kroon from IFR explains: “In the human body these compounds will be fermented by bacteria in the colon, creating metabolites that may be beneficial, for example with antioxidant activity.”

The Spanish research group, led by Professor Fulgencio Saura-Calixto, has been working to show that nonextractable polyphenols, which mostly escape analysis and are not usually considered in nutritional studies, are a major part of bioactive compounds in the diet.

“These polyphenols are major constituents of the human diet with important health properties. To consider them in nutritional and epidemiological research may be useful for a better understanding of the effects of plant foods in health,” says Professor Saura-Calixto.

The study was funded by a scholarship to Dr Arranz from the Spanish Ministry of Science and through IFR’s core strategic grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Institute of Food Research. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Sara Arranz, Fulgencio Saura-Calixto, Shika Shaha, Paul A. Kroon. High Contents of Nonextractable Polyphenols in Fruits Suggest That Polyphenol Contents of Plant Foods Have Been Underestimated. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009; 57 (16): 7298 DOI: 10.1021/jf9016652

Cite This Page:

Institute of Food Research. "Fruit Is Even Better For You Than Previously Thought." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 August 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827073252.htm>.
Institute of Food Research. (2009, August 28). Fruit Is Even Better For You Than Previously Thought. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827073252.htm
Institute of Food Research. "Fruit Is Even Better For You Than Previously Thought." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827073252.htm (accessed March 29, 2024).

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