TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Muscadine, Our Antioxidant Friend

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2008

The Southern table - perhaps unfairly - gets a rap for being rife with unhealthy food choices. Yet research shows that the region's native grape may be one of the most nutritious snacks around. The muscadine offers as many, if not more, nutritional benefits as noni, acai, pomegranate and all the other so-called "wonder fruits" people try to wrestle into their diets.

"Muscadines are unique in that they offer a very high concentration of naturally occurring molecules with a variety of properties," says David Herrington, a cardiologist at Wake Forest University who is conducting a clinical trial looking at the effects of muscadines on vascular health.

Many of these molecules are antioxidants that can prevent the oxidative stress in human cells that has been associated with stroke, cancer and coronary heart disease. One cup of fresh muscadines contains more than twice the antioxidant power of the average person's daily intake.

The antioxidants in abundant supply in muscadines range from vitamin C to resveratrol, the compound found in grape skins that has been associated with the "French paradox" of red wine intake. They are also particularly rich in flavonols, anthocynanins and ellagic acid.

Most of the these compounds are in the seeds and skin of the grapes. Bitter, chewy, taut and thick, muscadine skins are a deterrent to first-time consumers and a challenge to cooks, but they have allowed the grapes to thrive in the South's sometimes unfriendly climate.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT