Food Processors Take on Heart Disease

Rival PepsiCo, Purchase, N.Y., expanded its Tropicana Essentials line with Pure Premium Essential Healthy Heart. Touting potassium, vitamins B6, B12, C and E, and folate, the line also features Tropicana Light ’n’ Healthy with one-third less sugar and calories than orange juice, a full day’s supply of vitamin C and a supply of calcium.

The category of dietary antioxidants includes several different classes of compounds, including 5,000 or so naturally occurring phenolics. These include some 2,000 flavonoids, which are made up of flavonols, flavones, flavanols, procyanidins and anthocyanins. About 600 natural anthocyanin pigments have been identified, many of which are particularly effective at scavenging free radicals and have high antioxidant properties.

Vitamin E is undeniably the superhero among antioxidants and has been demonstrated to effectively protect the heart. Vitamin C is one of the more mainstream antioxidants and has been effectively used by food formulators to enhance the heart-healthy status of their foods. According to NMI, vitamin C is one of the more popular supplements among athletes, more than half of whom take vitamin C for its antioxidant properties, to alleviate muscle soreness and help repair cell damage.

Grapes are a gold mine of antioxidants associated with cardiovascular health. Grape skin and seeds contain anthocyanins and stilbenes (resveratrol and piceid), two classes of phenolics and flavonoid compounds quercetin, rutin, catechin and kaempferol. The antioxidant effects of grapes carry through when individuals with coronary artery disease consume Concord grape juice, prompting companies like Polyphenolics (Granger, Ind.) to extract bioactives from grape seed and grape pomace and show their effectiveness in preventing hypertension and lowering cholesterol. According to Ron Martin, Polyphenolics vice president of sales, the company is a couple of years away from getting a qualified health claim for applications in other food products.

The literature is replete with the use of berries to treat various ailments and includes grape polyphenolics to inhibit platelet aggregation and anthocyanin pigments with anti-inflammatory activity. “Total phenolics tend to have a higher correlation with antioxidant properties than total anthocyanins and in anthocyanin-rich fruits such as saskatoons, blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry and black currants,” according to Kelley Fitzpatrick, marketing and research development manager at the Richardson Center for Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, Winnipeg, Canada. Anthocyanins and polyphenolics are found in highest concentrations in the peel and skin.

Tea is generally categorized in the realm of foods and ingredients with cardiovascular benefits. At the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, Mass.), studies linked higher tea intake with healthy blood pressure levels, reduction in LDL oxidation, and inhibition of atherosclerosis and heart disease risk. The bioactive components of importance are catechins particularly (-) -epigalocatechin gallate (EGCG) and (-) -epicatechin gallate (ECG), both of which inhibit LDL cholesterol oxidation, slow the development of atherosclerosis.

Antioxidant specialty ingredients, like their vitamin and mineral counterparts, also are believed to reduce the damage caused by oxidative stress and even to prevent chronic disease by restoring the balance between antioxidants and free radicals. A notable specialty ingredient in cardiovascular health is coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Occurring naturally in the human body, CoQ10 has gained importance in recent years primarily as dietary supplements, chalking up a 12.7% increase in sales in mainstream markets in 2003 and 26.8% in the natural markets (SPINS/AC Nielsen). CoQ10 is recognized for improving peroxidation levels and contributing to a reduced risk for cardiac diseases. Efforts are under way in several Fortune 1000 food companies to incorporate CoQ10 in foods and beverages for mainstream markets.

Lutein as Food Additive

Despite the growing awareness of the dangers of unhealthy diets to avoid, many consumers find it difficult to adopt the necessary steps to prevent their cardiovascular system from becoming sick. Beyond just offering taste and basic nutrition, many fruits, vegetables and botanicals offer an array of antioxidant compounds including carotenoids that help bolster innate defenses and supply nutrients that target damaging free radicals.

Carotenoids have been shown to be significantly beneficial in heart health, specifically, lutein can scavenge free radicals to prevent or terminate oxidative chain reactions and protect against atherosclerotic development. Although fresh fruits and vegetables in addition to regular exercise are the simplest paths means to improve cardiovascular health, vegetables continue to have relatively low appeal among the U.S. population. Lutein is a boon to food formulators, constantly on the lookout for plant-based cardioprotective agents that can be used in various food products and help bolster cardiovascular wellness.

Lutein is an oxygenated carotenoid pigment found in dark green leafy vegetables, egg yolks, and other foods. “Epidemiological in vitro and in vivo investigations suggest that lutein is a potent protective factor against the progression of atherosclerosis in humans and animals,” says Zoraida DeFreitas, director of research & development, Kemin Foods, Des Moines, Iowa,

“Furthermore,” she adds, “the findings indicate that lutein’s effect is achieved with lowering of VLDL and IDL, rather than LDL, and via pathways that involve reduced inflammation and oxidative stress in the artery wall.”