PEACHES BENEFITS - THE BOMB OF ANTIOXIDANTS

PEACH BENEFIT -THE BOMB OF
ANTIOXIDANTS

Peaches are one of the best-selling fruits in the United States.
Peaches are juicy, sweet and delicious. Peaches are best eaten
fresh, but they are also frozen, canned and used in a variety of ways
such as jam, jelly, brandy, juice and baby food. You can add a slice of
peach to a bowl of cereal to enhance the flavor and nutritional value.
Peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] belong to rosaceae family. Same
as other members in the family, peaches are rich sources of minerals,
vitamins and carbohydrates. Peaches contain iron, potassium, niacin,
phosphorus, calcium, thiamin B1, riboflavin B2, and large amounts of
vitamins C and A. [1]

In addition to the large amounts of Â“traditionalÂ” nutritional values,
peach is also a good source of various anti-oxidants. The ranges of
total ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (in mg/100 g of fresh weight) were 6-9
(white-flesh peaches), 4-13 (yellow-flesh peaches), and 3-10
(plums). Total carotenoids concentrations (in microg/100 g of fresh
weight) were 7-20 (white-flesh peaches), 71-210 (yellow-flesh
peaches), and 70-260 (plums). Total phenolics (in mg/100 g of fresh
weight) were 28-111 (white-flesh peaches), 21-61 (yellow-flesh
peaches), and 42-109 (plums). [2]

The contributions of phenolic compounds to antioxidant activity were
much greater than those of vitamin C and carotenoids. There was a
strong correlation (0.93-0.96) between total phenolics and
antioxidant activity of peaches, and plums. [2]
Peach flesh extracts, peel extracts and whole peach extracts may
have benefits on various chronic diseases as they demonstrated the
ability to inhibit LDL oxidation. [3] Inhibition of LDL oxidation varied
from 17.0 to 37.1% in peach flesh extract, from 15.2 to 49.8% in
whole peach extract, and from 18.2 to 48.1% in peel extract. Total
phenols were 432.8-768.1 mg/kg in flesh extract, 483.3-803.0 mg/kg
in whole extract, and 910.9-1922.9 mg/kg in peel extract. The
correlation coefficient between relative LDL antioxidant activity and
concentration of total phenols was 0.76. [3]

Go and order some fresh peaches or peach extracts. Remember that
peaches do not get any sweeter once they are picked. Avoid the
green ones, if you want a sweet peach.

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REFERENCES
[1] Peach - Prunus persica , MarkÂ’s Fruit Crops, The University of Georgia,
Online Publication, September 19, 2005. [2] Gil MI et al, Antioxidant
capacities, phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and vitamin C contents of
nectarine, peach, and plum cultivars from California. J Agric Food Chem. 2002
Aug 14;50(17):4976-82. [3] Chang S et al, Low-density lipoprotein
antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds and polyphenol oxidase activity in
selected clingstone peach cultivars. J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Feb;48(2):147-
51. [4] Locally Grown, Peaches, The Green Line, News on gardening, health &
nutritrion from University of Illinois Extension, Online Publication, September
19, 2005.

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