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More Strawberries, More Antioxidant Absorption
By Rosalie
Marion Bliss August 21, 2008
Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) scientists have assessed the human body's capacity for
absorbing certain antioxidant compounds in strawberries, and have found that
the absorption of one key beneficial plant chemical was not "maxed out" as
volunteers ate more of this popular fruit. Foods high in antioxidants may be
excellent sources of healthful compounds, and researchers are striving to learn
more about their ability to be absorbed and utilized within the human body.
The study was conducted at the ARS
Beltsville
Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC) in Beltsville, Md., where
scientists have pioneered methods for identifying and measuring various plant
compounds in fruits and vegetables. Physiologist
Janet
Novotny, with the BHNRC's
Food
Components and Health Laboratory, led the study, which was published
recently in the
Journal
of Nutrition.
Marketed year-round, strawberries are the fifth most consumed fresh
fruit in the United States, and consumption more than doubled in the past
decade, according to experts. Strawberry's antioxidants come in the form of
both long-established vitamins and newly defined plant chemicals. Berries are
particularly well endowed with a series of compounds called anthocyanins--the
source of the berries' blue, purple and red pigments.
In the study, 12 volunteers consumed three different serving sizes of
strawberries during three separate treatment periods. Each two-day meal
treatment included either 3.5 ounces, 7 ounces, or 14 ounces of blended
strawberries, along with a full diet of carefully controlled foods. Each
treatment period was separated by a one-week break.
The study showed that the human body is capable of assimilating more
anthocyanin pigments as intakes increase. The results will help nutrition
scientists evaluate the healthful properties of individual anthocyanins and aid
plant breeders in developing varieties with optimal anthocyanin content.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.