Apple and Apple Phytochemicals,how strange a common fruit so magic use?

article content dotArticle Content:

Frequently Asked Questions.

Apple Peel extract INCI Name Pyrus Malus Extract CAS 89957-48-2 EINECS ELINCS No 289-567-5 Apple extract.Malus sylvestris ext.Green Apple Peel extract.Red Apple Peel extract Polyphenol Proanthocyanidin B2 photo picture image Q: Are apple polyphenols safe?

 A: Yes. A study published in June 2004 in Food and Chemical Toxicology tested oral toxicity of apple polyphenol extracts at levels 200 times the recommended dosage for humans. Researchers reported "no significant hematological, clinical, chemical, histopathological, or urinary effects" even at these extreme dosages.

 Apple polyphenol extracts are listed (as "apple essence, natural") in the FDA's approved additive/GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) database.

 Q: Why can't I just eat apples?

 A: It would be great if we could all get plenty of concentrated polyphenols from diet alone, but most research indicates most dietary polyphenols are poorly absorbed. In 1997, researchers is the Netherlands reported that "flavonoids (polyphenolic compounds) present in foods were considered non-absorbable because they are bound to sugars."

 A study at the Linus Pauling Institute concluded that "despite the high antioxidant capacity of individual apple polyphenols and apple extracts and the significant antioxidant effects of apple extract added to human plasma in vitro, ingestion of large amounts of apples by humans does not appear to result in equivalent in vivo antioxidant effects of apple polyphenols."

 Many of the studies on the health benefits of apples are actually testing potent apple polyphenol extracts, not whole apples. Apple polyphenol extracts are highly bioavailable and water-soluble.

 You can increase your intake of apple polyphenols by eating fresh apples (including the skin, where the highest concentrations are found), but unless you have your own apple trees, there is no guarantee that your fruit contains enough apple polyphenols.

 Worse, the apples at your grocery store are not fresh, and may have lost most of their polyphenol content before you buy them. All commercial apples in the U.S. are cold-stored in warehouses, most for many months. A study on apples published in 2004 found that "total phenolics and total antioxidant activity" decreased in the first three months of cold storage, and that "cold storage rapidly impoverishes these properties in skin." The same study reported "strong, time-related decreases over 6 mo of cold storage..."

 Most commercial apple products contain little or no polyphenols due to processing. Polyphenol content also varies greatly between apple varieties and fruit maturity. Relatively higher concentrations have been found in Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Rome Beauty, and Idared varieties.

 Chinese researchers report that immature apples, which are too bitter to eat, contain 10 times more apple polyphenols than mature apples. These immature apples are used to produce the high-concentrate apple polyphenol extracts.

 Surely, there is some benefit in increasing dietary intake of apples. There are serious questions, however, as to whether eating whole, cold-stored apples will substantially increase your absorption of these valuable polyphenols.

 Many of the studies on the health benefits of apples are actually using potent apple polyphenol extracts, not apples, in those studies.

 The use of standardized apple polyphenol extracts makes sense in terms of laboratory testing, but using the apple polyphenol extracts may also make sense for people wanting to realize the reported health benefits, for the following reasons:
 Apple extracts are the actual compounds showing the results in many of the available medical studies.

 The polyphenol bioavailability of apple peel powder extracts is far higher than from whole apples, which must be digested to extract the phytochemicals.

 The concentration of polyphenols in apple peel extracts makes it possible to consume higher doses. (Many studies you will read report dose-dependent effects, with higher dosages providing greater benefits.)

Last PageNext Page

Reference:

citations1.Apple and Apple Phytochemicals,how strange a common fruit so magic use?

last edit date:20th,June.2009.