The researchers desired to understand whether taking in freshly prepared smoothies made with different PPO-containing fruits affected the amount of flavanols available to the body.
The scientists had individuals drink a shake made with banana, which has naturally high PPO activity, and a smoothie made with blended berries, which have naturally low PPO activity. Participants also took a flavanol pill as a control. Blood and urine samples were examined to determine how much flavanols were present in the body after ingesting the healthy smoothie samples and capsule. The scientists found that those who drank the banana smoothie had 84% lower levels of flavanols in their bodies compared to the control.
Slice an apple or peel a banana and the fruit will quickly turn brown. That occurs because of polyphenol oxidase, or PPO, an enzyme naturally present in those foods. The browning happens when the food including that enzyme is exposed to air, cut, or bruised. The scientists wanted to know whether taking in newly ready healthy smoothies made with different PPO-containing fruits impacted the quantity of flavanols available to the body.
Berries versus bananas.
Blood and urine samples were analyzed to determine how much flavanols were present in the body after consuming the smoothie samples and capsule. The researchers found that those who consumed the banana healthy smoothie had 84% lower levels of flavanols in their bodies compared to the control.
” We were truly surprised to see how rapidly including a single banana reduced the level of flavanols in the smoothie and the levels of flavanol soaked up in the body,” Ottaviani said. “This highlights how cooking and mixes can affect the absorption of dietary substances in foods.”
In 2015, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provided a dietary suggestion, advising people to take in 400 to 600 milligrams of flavanols daily for cardiometabolic health. Ottaviani stated that people who are attempting to consume those flavanols, they must consider preparing shakes by integrating flavanol-rich fruits like berries with other components that also have a low PPO activity like pineapple, oranges, mango, or yogurt.
He likewise said bananas stay a terrific fruit to be eaten or consumed in smoothies. For those who desire to take in shakes with bananas, or other high PPO activity fruits and veggies such as beet greens, the idea is to not integrate them with flavanol-rich fruits such as berries, grapes, and cocoa.
The findings of this research study might spur future research study into how other foods are ready and the effects on flavanols, for instance, Ottaviani said tea is a significant dietary source of flavanols and depending on how it is prepared, a different amount of flavanols would be available for absorption.
” This is certainly an area that should have more attention in the field of polyphenols and bioactive compounds in basic,” said Ottaviani.
Recommendation: “Impact of polyphenol oxidase on the bioavailability of flavan-3-ols in fruit shakes: a controlled, single blinded, cross-over research study” by Javier I. Ottaviani, Jodi L. Ensunsa, Reedmond Y. Fong, Jennifer Kimball, Valentina Medici, Gunter G. C. Kuhnle, Alan Crozier, Hagen Schroetera and Catherine Kwik-Uribe, 24 August 2023, Food & & Function.DOI: 10.1039/ D3FO01599H.
Jodi Ensunsa, Reedmond Fong, Jennifer Kimball, and Alan Crozier, all associated with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition and scientists connected with the UC Davis Department of Internal Medicine, University of Reading, King Saud University, and Mars, Inc. contributed to the research study.
The study was funded by a research grant from Mars, Inc., which teams up with researchers to study the potential advantages of cocoa flavanols for human health.
Researchers have actually discovered that the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in certain fruits like bananas can reduce the absorption of heart-healthy flavanols, particularly when integrated with flavanol-rich ingredients like berries The research study suggests selecting ingredients with low PPO activity, such as pineapple or oranges, when making healthy smoothies to enhance flavanol absorption.
New research study assists optimize the health advantages of fruit shakes.
Shakes offer a scrumptious and easy technique to integrate important vegetables and fruits into your diet. But is a banana and blueberry healthy smoothie the very best combo? New research from the University of California, Davis, suggests that blending specific components in shakes can affect whether your body is getting a nutritional increase.
The research study, recently released in the Royal Society of Chemistrys journal Food and Function, utilized healthy smoothies to evaluate how numerous levels of polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme in lots of fruits and vegetables, impact the levels of flavanols in food to be taken in by the body. Flavanols are a group of bioactive compounds that benefit your heart and cognitive health and are naturally found in apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and cocoa– typical healthy smoothie components.
” We looked for to comprehend, on a really useful level, how a typical food and cooking like a banana-based healthy smoothie could affect the accessibility of flavanols to be absorbed after consumption,” said lead author Javier Ottaviani, director of the Core Laboratory of Mars Edge, which becomes part of Mars, Inc., and an accessory researcher with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition.
