Studying the effectiveness of blueberry antioxidants

Credit: U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which are unstable harmful molecules that can damage tissues cells and may increase the risk of atherosclerosis, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s. According to researchers at Cornell University, Ithica, N.Y., blueberries have the highest cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) value of all the fruits they tested. The study, which appeared in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, found CAA, a new method which measures the antioxidant content of foods, is more biologically relevant because it accounts for some aspects of uptake, metabolism and location of antioxidant compounds within cells.

For more information, visit www.pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2007/55/i22/abs/jf0715166.html