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Feijoa & blackberry have anti-inflammatory effort, says Auckland study
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Thursday, 08 January, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Auckland
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fiogf49gjkf0d Feijoa and blackberry have the strongest anti-inflammatory effect. This was stated by Prof Lynn Ferguson, nutrition and dietetics researcher at University of Auckland, which investigated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of 12 fruits during its study on the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and other inflammatory disorders.
In addition to the aforementioned fruits, they tested mango, elderberry, cranberry, blackcurrant, red raspberry, strawberry, green grapes, plum, pear and black grapes in various test screens. The study identified the anti-inflammatory effects of fruit compounds through certain chemical pathways that could be tested further to develop them as complementary therapies for disorders.
“Inflammatory responses are important to cope with damage, but an over-active inflammatory response is equally damaging and could create problems,” says Prof Ferguson. She added that these responses could be debilitating for New Zealanders with inflammatory diseases, and these fruits could help to limit the inflammatory response.
The study also showed that the anti-oxidant action of the feijoa compounds was not a direct effect, but was mediated through inhibitory effects on the enzyme, kinase. “Our studies support other results that suggest these fruit extracts could help to regulate oxidative stress and inflammation in cells, both directly and indirectly,” stated Prof Ferguson.
“Feijoa is already known to be very high in polyphenols such as flavonoids. These may be responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects. Identifying the active compounds would be the subject of further studies,” she added. For the experiments reported in the study, the testing included the skin and pulp of all the fruits.
“In feijoa, the skin has more bio-activity than the pulp. Some Asian cultures eat the skin, but in most western cultures many people find the taste too sour,” she said. “The research was a collaboration across New Zealand with people of different expertise getting together to share ideas and discuss the findings,” Prof Ferguson added.
While Nutrigenomics New Zealand provided the fruit fractions for testing, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust supported the work.
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