Not all fruit antioxidants behave alike
Published June 14th, 2007
In a recent study conducted by USDA researchers, information that reinforces the need for further research into how antioxidants perform in supplements.
As part of the study, led by Ronald Prior, researchers looked at the antioxidant status of volunteer participants at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center after the consumption of different fruits.
The results point to some of the different factors that may affect how antioxidants work in the body and their effectiveness.
The effectiveness of antioxidants suddenly became controversial in February following a meta-analysis that linked the compounds to increased mortality.
A meta-analysis of 68 randomized trials with antioxidant supplements published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February reported that vitamins A and E could increase mortality by up to 16 percent.
As part of the US Department of Agriculture’s study, nutritionists from the Agricultural Research Service assessed antioxidant capacity (AOC) measured as Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC).
“We have demonstrated that consumption of certain berries and fruits such as blueberries, mixed grape and kiwifruit, was associated with increased plasma AOC in the postprandial state and consumption of an energy source of macronutrients containing no antioxidants was associated with a decline in plasma AOC,” concluded the authors. “However, without further long term clinical studies, one cannot necessarily translate increases in plasma AOC into a potential decreased risk of chronic degenerative disease.”
Source:
Prior, Ronald L. et al. “Plasma antioxidant capacity changes following a meal as a measure of the ability of a food to alter in vivo antioxidant status.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Vol. 26, No. 2, 170-181 (2007).
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