Texas A&M says plums and peaches are a new superfood

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

This is a first-draft press release from Texas A & M (actually not

released yet). I have access to this because I work in agriculture.

Will post again as I learn more.

Dave

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Jan. 27, 2009

Plums poised to give blueberries run for the money

Writer: Kathleen

Contact: Dr. Byrne, Dr. Cisneros

COLLEGE STATION – There's an emerging star in the super food

world. Plums are rolling down the food fashion runway sporting newly

discovered high levels of healthy nutrients, say scientists at Texas

AgriLife Research.

To be blunt, " blueberries are passe, " said Dr. Cisneros,

AgriLife Research food scientist.

Far from fruit snobbery, the plum is being ushered in after Cisneros

and Dr. Byrne, AgriLife Research plant breeder, judged more than

100 varieties of plums and peaches and found them to match or exceed

the much-touted blueberries in antioxidants and phytonutrients

associated with disease prevention.

The duo acknowledge that blueberries remain a good nutritional

choice. But Byrne said their findings are plum good news, especially

in tight economic times, because one relatively inexpensive plum

contains about the same amount of antioxidants as a handful of more

expensive blueberries.

" People tend to eat just a few blueberries at a time – a few on

the cereal or as an ingredient mixed with lots of sugar, " Cisneros

said. " But people will eat a whole plum at once and get the full benefit. "

Discovery of the plum's benefits – along with that of fellow stone

fruit, the peach – came after the researchers measured at least five

brands of blueberries on the market. Against those numbers, the team

measured the content of more than 100 different types of plums and

peaches. The first comparison was for antioxidants, molecules that

sweep through a body looking for free radicals to knock out. Free

radicals are atoms or molecules that lurk where diseases like cancer

and heart disease are found. " If the radicals aren't take care of, "

Cisneros said, " they will cause the problems that lead to disease. "

But the scientists didn't stop knowing that plums and peaches were

flexing their antioxidant muscles.

" Knowing that we had all these varieties with high levels of

antioxidants, then the possibility of preventing these diseases would

also be high with their consumption, so we went to the next step – how

these compounds could actually inhibit chronic diseases, " Cisneros said.

So the team examined the full content of plums and peaches, then

tried the compounds they found on diseases such as breast cancer cells

and cholesterol in the lab.

" We screened the varieties again with the biological assays, "

Cisneros said. " And that had never been done before, because it is

expensive and a lot of work. But that investment is small in terms of

the information we got and how it can be used now for breeding efforts

to produce even better fruit. "

Byrne noted, for example, that one benefit the team found was that

the phytonutrients in plums inhibited in vitro breast cancer growth

while not bothering normal cell growth. He said this type of research

needs further study but is an indication that breeders ultimately will

be able to produce new crop varieties with the best ratio of various

phytochemicals to have an impact on disease prevention and inhibition.

And these fruit will be available as fresh produce as well as in

extracts for dietary supplements.

Bottomline from the researchers: " We suggest that consumers take

seriously the recommendation to eat at least five servings of fruits

and vegetables – or even more – every day and to make sure that plums

are part of that, " Byrne said.