What are the health benefits of apples?

Apple Benefits nutritions and research finds

What are the potential health benefits of an apple?
Studies have shown that consumption of apples regularly is effective
to lower risks of certain types of cancers and other chronic diseases.
Its high contents of antioxidants are important to the benefits.

What does an apple contain?

Apple is a rich source of phenolic phytochemicals.

These phenolic phytochemicals are important to appleÂ’s antioxidant
activity. Researchers determined their contribution on the antioxidant
activity using a 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)
radical scavenging assay and expressed as vitamin C equivalent
antioxidant capacity. They first evaluated their average concentrations
of and vitamin C in six apple cultivars as follows (mg/100 g of fresh
weight of apples): quercetin glycosides, 13.20; procyanidin B(2), 9.35;
chlorogenic acid, 9.02; epicatechin, 8.65; phloretin glycosides, 5.59;
vitamin C, 12.80. They then estimated their relative vitamin C
equivalent antioxidant capacity values: quercetin (3.06) > epicatechin
(2.67) > procyanidin B(2) (2.36) > phloretin (1.63) > vitamin C (1.00) >
chlorogenic acid (0.97). Based on these of information they concluded
that flavonoids such as quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B(2)
are more important than vitamin C in appleÂ’s total antioxidant
activity. [1]

APPLE IS A RICH SOURCE OF ANTI-OXIDANT

Researchers found that phenolics are at high concentration in the
peels of apples. However, during applesauce and canned apple
manufacture, the antioxidant-rich peels of apples are discarded.
Studies have shown that apple peels were also shown to more
effectively inhibit the growth of HepG(2) human liver cancer cells than
the other apple components. [2] However, other researchers found
that apple juice reduced Cr(VI)-induced lipid peroxidation, DNA
damage, cell apoptosis, and NF-kappaB activation in human lung
epithelial A549 cells. [3] In another study, researchers extracted three
different procyanidins from apple (Rosaceae Malus pumila) and they
found these procyanidins induced apoptosis in human stomach cancer
KATO III cells in both concentration- and time-dependent fashions. [4]
Scientists also found that oral apple procyanidins could reduce the
total number of hyperproliferative crypts and of aberrant crypt foci in
rats suffered from colon cancer. It is believed that apple procyanidins
alter intracellular signaling pathways, polyamine biosynthesis and
trigger apoptosis in tumor cells. [5]

Apple pectin has been shown to be effective on the decrease of
cholesterol in liver and serum. Researchers fed normal rats with apple
pectin for three weeks and they found that a significant increase of
cholesterol concentration in faeces, decrease of hepatic and serum
cholesterol. [6] Another group fed 33 subjects with a mixture of apple-
pectin-guar, they found that this mixture significantly reduced total c,
LDL-c and the total c/HDL-c ratio and the highest individual reduction
amounted to more than 30% for total-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.
[7]

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REFERENCES

[1] Lee KW et al, Major phenolics in apple and their contribution to the total
antioxidant capacity. J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Oct 22;51(22):6516-20. [2]
Wolfe K et al Antioxidant activity of apple peels. J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Jan
29;51(3):609-14. [3] Shi D et al, Antioxidant properties of apple juice and its
protection against Cr(VI)-induced cellular injury. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol.
2002;21(3):233-42. [4] Hibasami H et al, Induction of apoptosis by three types
of procyanidin isolated from apple (Rosaceae Malus pumila) in human stomach
cancer KATO III cells. Int J Mol Med. 2004 Jun;13(6):795-9. [5] Gosse F
Chemopreventive properties of apple procyanidins on human colon cancer-
derived metastatic SW620 cells and in a rat model of colon carcinogenesis.
Carcinogenesis. 2005 Jul;26(7):1291-5. Epub 2005 Mar 24. [6] Gonzalez M
Effects of orange and apple pectin on cholesterol concentration in serum, liver
and faeces. J Physiol Biochem. 1998 Jun;54(2):99-104. [7] Pirich C et al,
Lowering cholesterol with Anticholest--a high fiber guar-apple pectin drink Wien
Klin Wochenschr. 1992;104(11):314-6.

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