According to a new study to be presented at the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia in August this year, peaches, plums and nectarines have ‘bioactive compounds’ that could potentially fight-off obesity-related diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Studies by Texas AgriLife Research suggest the compounds in stone fruits could be a weapon against “metabolic syndrome” a statement on their website suggests.
AgriLife researchers believe stone fruits – peaches, plums and nectarines – have bioactive compounds that could potentially fight the syndrome associated with diabetes, as well as aid heart health.
Food scientist Luis Cisneros-Zevallos said: “Our work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol LDL which is associated to cardiovascular disease.”
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“Our work shows that the four major phenolic groups – anthocyanins, clorogenic acids, quercetin derivatives and catechins – work on different cells – fat cells, macrophages and vascular endothelial cells,” he explained.
“They modulate different expressions of genes and proteins depending on the type of compound.
“However, at the same time, all of them are working simultaneously in different fronts against the components of the disease, including obesity, inflammation, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” he explained.
Cisneros-Zevallos said this is believed to be the first time bioactive compounds of a fruit have been shown to potentially work in different fronts against a disease.
The team plan to continue studying the role of each type of compound on the molecular mechanisms and confirm their results with studies on mice.
