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Antioxidant activity of fresh apples

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Abstract

Vitamin C is used as a dietary supplement because of its antioxidant activity, although a high dose (500 mg) may act as a pro-oxidant in the body1,2. Here we show that 100 g of fresh apples has an antioxidant activity equivalent to 1,500 mg of vitamin C, and that whole-apple extracts inhibit the growth of colon- and liver- cancer cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Our results indicate that natural antioxidants from fresh fruit could be more effective than a dietary supplement.

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Figure 1: Antioxidant activity of apples and their effect on tumour-cell proliferation in vitro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science, 108 Stocking Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853-7201, New York, USA

    Marian V. Eberhardt, Chang Yong Lee & Rui Hai Liu

Authors
  1. Marian V. Eberhardt
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  2. Chang Yong Lee
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  3. Rui Hai Liu
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Correspondence to Rui Hai Liu.

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Eberhardt, M., Lee, C. & Liu, R. Antioxidant activity of fresh apples. Nature 405, 903–904 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35016151

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