Anti-Oxidants, Anthocyanin & ORAC

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Here is an interesting article from the Linus ing Institute. It would seem

by using the ORAC anti-oxidant

measurement system, the various parts of food can be analyzed for their

contribution toward anti-oxidant capability.

My ORAC tables can be accessed here:

http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au/OracReview.htm

http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au/OracLevels.htm

The Excel interactive ORAC calculator to evaluate your daily ORAC intakes:

http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au/orac.xls

Chocolate lover will like the ORAC rating for that food.

Dark Chocolate 13,120

Milk Chocolate 6,740

Chocolate also stacks up well on a ORAC per calorie scale:

Wolf berry 633

Yellow Squash 58

Spinach 57

Strawberries 51

Pomegranates 49

Blueberries 43

Cranberries 42

Steamed Spinach 40

Blackberries 39

Kale 35

Alfalfa sprouts 29

Broccoli Flowers 28

Eucalyptus oil 27

Red bell pepper 27

Raspberries 25

Prunes 24

Dark Chocolate 24 <<<<<<

Brussels sprouts 23

Orange oil 21

Lemongrass oil 20

Beets 20

http://www.orst.edu/dept/lpi/ss01/anthocyanin.html

The Possible Health Benefits of Anthocyanin Pigments and Polyphenolics

E. Wrolstad, Ph.D.

OSU Distinguished Professor of

Food Science and Technology

Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for the red, purple, and blue colors of

many fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, and

flowers. They have long been the subject of investigation by botanists and plant

physiologists because of their roles as

pollination attractants and phytoprotective agents. They have also been very

useful in taxonomic studies. Even Linus

ing was interested in related compounds called anthocyanidins—he discussed

their chemical structure to illustrate

the use of resonance in understanding structural problems in a 1939 paper. Food

scientists and horticulturists continue

to study these compounds because of their obvious importance to the color

quality of fresh and processed fruits and

vegetables. Our laboratory first started studying these compounds because of

color degradation of strawberry preserves,

fruit juice concentrates, and wine. Subsequent projects were designed to

determine their utility as natural food

colorants and to authenticate fruit juice.

Today, interest in anthocyanin pigments has intensified because of their

possible health benefits as dietary

antioxidants. Over 300 structurally distinct anthocyanins have been identified

in nature. Anthocyanins are one class of

flavonoid compounds, which are widely distributed plant polyphenols. Flavonols,

flavan-3-ols, flavones, flavanones, and

flavanonols are additional classes of flavonoids that differ in their oxidation

state from the anthocyanins. Solutions

of these compounds are colorless or pale yellow. Other phenolic compounds that

comprise part of our diet include

phenolic acids and their esters, such as chlorogenic acid and polymeric tannins.

At least 5,000 naturally occurring

polyphenolics have been identified, including over 2,000 flavonoids. The term

polyphenolics is increasingly being used

to describe phenolic-based compounds having similar solubility properties that

are analyzed by high-performance liquid

chromatography. The polyphenolic profile of fruit juices is likely to include

flavonols, free and esterified phenolic

acids, and procyanidins. Polyphenolics contribute to food and beverage color by

serving as substrates for an enzyme to

produce brown pigments. The procyanidins and condensed tannins provide

astringency and bitterness in tea and wine.

There is considerable anecdotal and epidemiological evidence that dietary

anthocyanin pigments and polyphenolics may

have preventive and therapeutic roles in a number of human diseases. Through the

much publicized “French paradox”, the

public has become aware that certain populations of red-wine drinkers in France

and Italy have much lower rates of

coronary heart disease (CHD) than their North American and Northern European

counterparts. It is widely accepted that

red wine phenolics contribute at least partly to this beneficial effect. A

number of studies have shown that mortality

from CHD is inversely correlated with intake of flavonoids in the diet.

Flavonoids may also help prevent strokes. While

some flavonoids have been shown to inhibit tumor development, some experts have

concluded that compounds other than

flavonoids must be responsible for the anticancer effects of dietary fruits and

vegetables.

The anthocyanin pigments of Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) have long been used

for improving visual acuity and

treating circulatory disorders. There is experimental evidence that certain

anthocyanins and flavonoids have

anti-inflammatory properties, and there are reports that orally administered

anthocyanins are beneficial for treating

diabetes and ulcers and may have antiviral and antimicrobial activities. The

chemical basis for these desirable

properties of flavonoids is believed to be related to their antioxidant

capacity—their ability to scavenge and trap free

radicals that damage biomolecules. Some people believe that eventually we will

have a recommended minimum daily

requirement for these dietary antioxidants. Much remains to be learned, however,

before that occurs. The antioxidant

content of many foodstuffs is unknown, making accurate estimates for human

consumption of flavonoids and the correlation

with disease difficult. Our knowledge of the anthocyanin and polyphenolic

composition of many fruits, vegetables and

cereals is incomplete, and little is known about the effects of processing and

cooking on these substances. It is also

uncertain how much of the particular flavonoids are absorbed into the

bloodstream and get to various cells.

A pilot project grant from the Linus ing Institute permitted us to

investigate the antioxidant properties of dietary

phenolics. Our lab supplied Dr. Vadim Ivanov of LPI with purified samples of

sinapyl derivatives of glutathione that

Ling Wen, Ph.D. candidate in Food Science, had identified in pineapple juice.

These novel compounds have not been

previously found in nature and are present as major compounds in pineapple

juice. Their antioxidant capacity, as

measured by photo-chemiluminescence methodology, was from 1-4 times greater than

Trolox, which is a chemical analog of

vitamin E. This initial work has led to several collaborative projects with LPI

in which we are investigating the

antioxidant capacities of various fruits and vegetables.

The Washington Apple Commission awarded us a grant to determine the polyphenolic

composition and antioxidant activities

of apples (Red Delicious, Granny , and Fuji varieties), as well as the

influence of post-harvest storage on these

activities. Bob Durst, Senior Research Assistant, and Widyasari, M.S.

student, have supplied Deborah Hobbs of LPI

with various apple extracts. Deborah has used two different assays to determine

antioxidant activity: the fluorometric

based Oxygen Radical Absorbing Capacity (ORAC) and the spectrophotometric Ferric

Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP)

methods. The ORAC determination is regarded as a fairly direct means of

measuring the ability to trap free radicals

while the FRAP assay is easier to perform. Preliminary experiments have shown

that antioxidant activity of apple flesh

and peel extracts is predominantly in the water-soluble part and is attributable

to polyphenolics. ORAC values are

highest in the peel, with Red Delicious having the highest values, presumably

because of the presence of anthocyanin

pigments. While ORAC values are lower than those reported for blueberries and

strawberries, apples compare favorably

when portion size and per capita consumption are considered. The project will

also include determination of the

biologically relevant antioxidant activity of apple polyphenolics by measuring

in vitro effects of individual phenolics

on blood plasma antioxidant parameters and oxidative modification of low-density

lipoprotein (LDL), also known as the

“bad” cholesterol.

The Washington and Oregon Cherry Commissions currently support a project on

cherry phytochemicals. Arusa Chaovanalikit,

Ph.D. student, is determining the anthocyanin pigment and polyphenolic

composition of four cherry cultivars and

measuring their distribution in peel, flesh, and pits. This information will be

useful for evaluating whether processing

waste might be a source for nutraceuticals or antioxidant supplements. Cherries

are reasonably high in ORAC activity,

which appears to be correlated with anthocyanin pigment content. Cherry

polyphenolics and anthocyanins undergo

considerable degradation during processing. We have measured over 50% loss of

anthocyanins in cherries during 6 months

frozen storage at -10ºC. We intend to examine the effects of canning, freezing,

and brining on polyphenolic composition

and antioxidant activity.

Dr. Moyer, visiting sabbatical professor from King College, Bristol,

Tennessee, worked with Kim Hummer of the

USDA Germplasm Repository and Chad Finn of the USDA Northwest Center for Small

Fruit Research to investigate the levels

of dietary antioxidants in various berries. They collected fruits from 107

cultivars and species of Vaccinium

(blueberries), Rubus (blackberries, black raspberries), and Ribes (black

currants, gooseberries) and determined total

anthocyanins, total phenolics, and ORAC and FRAP values. All of these fruits are

rich in dietary antioxidants. ORAC

values (micromoles Trolox equivalents/gram) in blueberries ranged from 19 to

131, in blackberries and black raspberries

from 13 to 146, and in black currants and gooseberries from 17 to 116. Many of

the experimental selections were

considerably higher in antioxidant levels than common commercial varieties. This

illustrates the potential for plant

breeders to develop cultivars that are much richer in dietary antioxidants.

Antioxidant values correlated well with both

total phenolic and total anthocyanin content. A high correlation between ORAC

and FRAP for all samples suggests that

both assays have validity for determining antioxidant activity.

Brown, USDA Research Geneticist at Prosser, Washington, is working on

improving the potato as a functional food.

He supplied us with anthocyanin-containing purple and red-fleshed experimental

cultivars along with some common potato

varieties. We analyzed the anthocyanin pigment content and antioxidant levels

and found that potatoes with pigmented

flesh displayed antioxidant capacities 2-3 times greater than unpigmented

varieties. This preliminary data has enabled

us to get a USDA grant, “Developing the potato as a functional food: Breeding,

compositional analysis and human

nutrition studies”. We will be working collaboratively with Brown,

Principal Investigator, and Beverly

Clevidence of the USDA Phytonutrient Laboratory in Beltsville, land.

There is much to be learned about the bioavailability of these compounds, how

they are metabolized, structure-activity

relationships, and the mechanisms by which they may prevent disease. We also

need to determine if some of these

compounds might act as pro-oxidants at certain dosage levels, leading to harmful

effects. It may be advantageous for us

to consume a variety of antioxidants in food that have somewhat different

oxidation potentials, solubilities, rates of

absorption, and mechanisms of action, which mirrors the nutritionist’s

recommendation that we eat a wide variety of

fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains.

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Good health & long life,

Greg ,

http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au