[click on the Wikipedia links for more information]
Achenes ("eh-keens"), the seeds of a strawberry
Compared to more primitive plants like mosses and ferns which do not have seeds and use other means to propagate, seeds are essential for flowering plants like berries to reproduce and spread.
Similar to a human embryo, a berry seed is the product of fertilization and growth within the mother plant. Also similar to an animal embryo, a berry seed contains the complete genetic material of the parent plus nutrients to sustain the seed until it germinates into a seedling plant.
Another way of looking at berry seeds is that they carry
high concentrations of all the nutrients and
phytochemicals humans desire
from eating fresh berries or berry products.
So wouldn't you want them in your diet?
Hint: buy seeded grapes, strawberries, blackberries and
boysenberries, and chew the seeds!
Let's have a look at the nutritional and potential health values
of seeds from different berries.
Nutrient Content
As with all edible seeds (flax, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, etc.), berry seeds contain dense amounts of nutrients we want from any food, but are especially good reservoirs of protein, essential fatty acids (the "heart-healthy" kind), vitamin E, numerous B vitamins and essential minerals and phenolics -- the antioxidant phytochemicals we expect to gain from eating berries.
[full nutrient analyses on berry seeds are not available, but check out the impressive profile of macro- and micronutrients for the modest but popular, inexpensive sunflower seeds, click.
Buy these and typical nuts (which actually are seeds) from your grocery store's bulk bin
and get them into your family's diet!]
This study (click) showed seed flours from
black raspberry, red raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, pinot noir grape, and chardonnay grape had
Pinot noir grapes
[follow the Wikipedia links]
"Caneberries" -- blackberries, boysenberries, red raspberries, black raspberries -- are famous for their seeds not always enjoyed by consumers, so processing companies usually remove seeds. But these valuable nutrient sources are loaded with micronutrients and antioxidants, including ellagic acid and ellagitannins-- check out this study!, click
Antioxidant Activity of Strawberry Achenes
This study (click) showed that a whole strawberry contained just 1% achenes ("eh-keens") by fresh weight, but the achenes made up 11% of total phenolics and 14% of the total antioxidant activity of the strawberry.
Ellagic acid and ellagitannins were the main antioxidants in the achenes. The major anthocyanin in strawberry pulp was one called pelargonidin-3-glucoside, whereas achenes contained an antioxidant feature discussed before at the Berry Doctor's Journal -- cyanidin-3-glucoside.
These strawberry antioxidants have anti-cancer activity in laboratory experiments (click).
Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins
Proanthocyanidins are natural tannin antioxidants found in many plants, including pine bark, blackcurrants and teas. They are especially enriched in grape seeds.
Muscadine grapes are likely the blackest grape species and among the richest fruit sources of antioxidants, especially in their seeds.
The rank order of antioxidant strength in
muscadine grape components?
Seeds >> leaves > skin > pulp
Muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia) from South Carolina, USA
Proanthocyanidins appear to be among the strongest antioxidant chemicals known. When included in the diet, they have been linked to lowered risk against many diseases (click).
Currently, there are four NIH-sanctioned clinical trials
on grape, apple or cranberry proanthocyanidins (click).
Boysenberries (Rubus idaeus x ursinus), excellent sources of chewable seeds,
at least one in each drupelet
