Fifty Fun Facts, Issue #10 5 Rare Berries |
(look for Wikipedia and other information links highlighted like this) Berries are attracting world attention as perhaps the best-tasting, most versatile of antioxidant food groups. Currently, there is a revelation of global market interest in "superfruits", i.e., those with high nutrient and antioxidant qualities, and potential for improving health. Two superfruits we've been covering with reports from The Berry Doctor's Journal are açaí (pronounced "ah-sigh-ee", Brazilian palmberry) and goji (Chinese wolfberry). There are more superfruits on the horizon...... and several of them are berries. Here are 5 to watch for...... 1. Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) Native to the northern USA and southern Canada, red, purple and black aronia berries are so dense with phenolic pigments (antioxidants) they are too sour to eat fresh! Birds and some 4-legged predators don't seem to mind! But those pigments could be a key to human health benefits, and clever ingredients manufacturers will extract the pigments, combine them with something sweet and pleasant to the palate, or package them in capsules, powders, foods, or drinks that will enable the phenolics to have their beneficial antioxidant effects when eaten or applied in a balm or skin cream. Aronia phenolics have been shown to block the normal growth cycle of human colon cancer cells in vitro.
2. Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia) Cultivated in the southeastern USA for 350 years and now the official state fruit of North Carolina, muscadines (also called Scuppernongs after a river in NC) are loaded with resveratrol, the flavonoid commonly associated with the health benefits of red wines. They also contain high concentrations of the anthocyanin called myricetin, the "signature" antioxidant of the European bilberry! A recent cancer research study showed that another muscadine phenolic - ellagic acid - was toxic to colon tumor cells.
3. Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) Finland's favorite fruit! Lingonberry (aka cowberry, partridgeberry) also grows in north-eastern Canada. It is usually not cultivated, but rather a favorite prize for treasure-hunting in the forests of Labrador and northern Europe. In a recent chemical analysis, 28 different phenolic antioxidants were discovered in this one berry! Studies in 2005 showed that lingonberry phenolics could inhibit leukemia cell growth in vitro.
4. Eldberberry (Sambucus nigra) Native to Europe, Asia and northern North America, elderberry provides one of the deepest blue juices and jams found in novelty fruit shops from Montreal to Los Angeles. The rich color of this berry comes from its dense concentration of anthocyanins that were shown in recent studies to inhibit several enzymatic steps of carcinogenesis. In other words, consistent with its folklore as a "cure-all", elderberry antioxidants are now associated in laboratory research with anti-cancer mechanisms. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Did you notice a trend in research on the 4 berries above? One of the most important advances in berry research during 2006 was the focus on berry phenolics as anti-cancer agents, like this report on black raspberries. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) Remember your elementary school lessons about North American Indians making pemmican? Berries mixed with meat to preserve food over long-term storage (hint: it was the saskatoon's antioxidant pigment phenolics that did the preserving!). The "serviceberry" was used most often for this purpose. And how many fruits do you know that have had a city named after them? Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada -- largest city in the province (link), population of more than 200,000, a primary location where these berries still are farmed, mainly serving summer u-pick or fresh fruitstand sales. If you haven't tasted saskatoon pie, jam, syrup, ice cream or yogurt... well, you've missed one of Nature's most wonderful mellow and delicious treats!
Previous Issues of Fifty Fun Facts # 1 (goji = wolfberry, black raspberry, blackberry, açaí) # 3 (strawberry, grape antioxidants) # 5 (phenolics and flavonoids) # 8 (top 5 research studies of 2006)
That concludes our Fifty Fun Facts About Berries! Onto another topic in the near future!
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Would information like this interest someone you know? Please suggest a visit to the Berry Doctor Sign-in Page! Thanks. Dr. Paul |
