Untitled

Funder

Organizational Unit

Publications

Evaluation of cardiovascular protective effect of different apple varieties - Correlation of response with composition

Publication . Serra, A. T.; Rocha, J.; Sepodes, B.; Matias, A. A.; Feliciano, R. P.; Carvalho, A. d.; Bronze, M. R.; Duarte, C. M. M.; Figueira, M. E.

"Epidemiological evidence supports the concept that diets rich in fruits and vegetables promote health and attenuate or delay the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In particular, a reduced risk of CVD has been associated with apple consumption, probably due to the cholesterol-lowering effect of the main bioactive compounds, namely fiber and polyphenols. In this work, the effect of diet supplementation with 20% of three Portuguese apple cultivars (Bravo de Esmolfe, Malápio Serra and Golden), containing distinct phenolic and fiber concentrations, on serum lipid profile and oxLDL of male Wistar rats fed a cholesterol-enriched diet (2%) was evaluated. After 30 days, only Bravo de Esmolfe apple was able to decrease significantly serum levels of triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol concentrations (reductions of 27.2%, 21.0% and 20.4%, respectively, in relation to the cholesterol-enriched diet group, p<0.05) . The levels of oxLDL were also significantly improved with the consumption of this apple variety (reductions of 20.0% and 11.9%, in relation to the cholesterol-enriched diet group and control group, respectively, p>0.05) as well as with Malapio da Serra apple (reductions of 9.8% in relation to the cholesterol-enriched diet group, p<0.05). Correlation of the bioactive response with chemical composition showed that catechin, epicatechin, procyanidin B1 and -carotene are the major phytocompounds responsible for the cholesterol lowering ability of apples. The antioxidant potential may have also contributed to this beneficial effect."

2012-12Journal article

Open access