Worldwide in the northern hemisphere, September and October are months of the annual grape harvest.
According to the United Nations, grapes are among the top 5 fruits consumed in the world (by total acreage and harvest volume) -- the others are apples, oranges, bananas, and mangoes.
But is there any fruit finding more applications for human consumption than the red grape? Fresh, dried as raisins, juices, flavors, fragrances, extracts, supplements, seed oil and wine.
For centuries, grapes have been favored in this variety of formats more extensively than any other fruit.
Highlights of 2009 Research on Grapes
click for abstract!
Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Key finding: grape powder increased the viability and metabolic activity of liver cells, and reduced oxidative stress-stimulated apoptosis (natural dying rate of cells)
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click for abstract!
Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Exp Neurol. 2009 Sep 8. [Epub ahead of print]
Key finding: grape seed extract contains polyphenols shown to inhibit amyloid formation (in mice)
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click for abstract!
Department of Medical Nutrition, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Korea.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Aug;1171:385-90.
Key finding: Consuming moderate amounts of daily grape juice may favorably affect antioxidant defense systems and lymphocyte DNA damage in hypertensive individuals.
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click for abstract!
Evans Department of Medicine and the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
J Nutr. 2009 Sep;139(9):1788S-93S.
Key finding: Epidemiological studies suggest that consumption of wine, grape products, and other foods containing polyphenols is associated with decreased risk for cardiovascular disease. The benefits of wine consumption appear to be greater than other alcoholic beverages.
Next!
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resveratrol from red grape skins and seeds is the phytochemical in fruit research most advanced toward a health claim for effectiveness against human diseases -- see what's new!
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