While monitoring the process of raspberry,
blueberry, and strawberry flavonoid extractions, a technician checks the
solvent level of the blueberry mixture.Click the image for more information
about it.
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How Are You Fixed for Flavonoids?
By Rosalie Marion
Bliss
January 10, 2007 What do red grapes, white onions,
green and black teas and blackeye cowpeas all have in common? In addition to
vitamins and minerals, these plant foods are rich in a class of chemical
compounds called flavonoids.
The first update of the
USDA Database
for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods, Release 2, is now available.
The new release provides analytical values for 26 selected flavonoid compounds
in 393 foods.
For the update, scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) analyzed the flavonoids in nearly 60
representative fruits, nuts and vegetables taken from a nationwide sampling. In
addition, data from nearly 100 new scientific papers on the flavonoid content
of various foods were evaluated for inclusion.
The update project was led by nutritionists
David
Haytowitz and
Seema
Bhagwat at ARS' Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL).
They collaborated with colleagues at the ARS Food
Composition Laboratory, led by chemist
James
Harnly. Both laboratories are among seven units at ARS' Beltsville (Md.)
Human
Nutrition Research Center. ARS is the chief scientific research agency of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The new release includes the quantities of the 26 selected flavonoids found
in 168 new foods that have been added to the original database. Data for many
of the food items included in the first release were also updated.
Research studies have consistently provided evidence suggesting an
association between consumption of diets high in flavonoids and reduced risk of
cancer and heart disease. Documenting the flavonoid content of foods is
essential to researchers who strive to evaluate associations between dietary
flavonoid intake and risk factors for various chronic diseases.
This supplemental flavonoid database complements the NDL's core product, The
National Nutrient
Database for Standard Reference, SR19, which is the major authoritative
source of food composition information in the United States. Supplemental
databases for other phytochemicals found at the NDL website include those for
proanthocyanidins and isoflavones.
The new database is accessible from NDL's
website.
It is available to read online and can be downloaded for use on personal
computers as a
PDF
file.