Antioxidants in Citrus May Head Off Obesity-Related Diseases
Eating citrus fruit could head off chronic diseases that are related
to obesity, a growing health problem in many parts of the world,
according to a new study.
Diabetes, heart disease and liver disease are increasing as more
people pack on the kilos. But there’s a substance in citrus fruits
called flavanones, which are antioxidants that help people’s bodies
reduce the amount of oxidative stress. The diseases linked to obesity
are caused by oxidative stress and its related inflammation.
When humans consume a fatty diet, their fat cells produce reactive
oxygen species that harm cells. When fat cells become too large, which
they do in obese individuals, they produce higher levels of reactive
oxygen species that overwhelm the body, causing inflammation and
disease.
Researchers say antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, such as
citrus flavanones, help fight reactive oxygen species and reduce
oxidative stress in animals that eat a high fat diet.
Paula Ferreira, a graduate researcher at the Universidade Estadual
Paulist in Brazil conducted the research. The month-long experiment by
Ferreira and colleagues involved 50 mice, feeding them either a normal
diet, a high fat diet, or a high fat diet with three flavanones.
Investigators found the mice that ate a high fat diet, but no
flavanones, had significantly higher levels of cell damage, than mice
that ate a normal diet
Mice on the high fat died had 80 percent more cell damage markers in
their blood and 57 percent in the liver compared to rodents fed a normal
diet, report researchers.
But mice fed a high fat diet plus the three flavanones - hesperidin,
eriocitrin and eriodictyol - had a reduction in cell damage markers
compared to mice on a standard diet. Reductions in the liver ranged from
50 to 64 percent depending upon the flavanone given compared to those
on a high fat diet alone.
Researchers said the obese mice became healthier consuming citrus flavanones even though they did lose any weight.
“Our results indicate that in the future, we can use citrus
flavanones, a class of antioxidants, to prevent or delay chronic
diseases caused by obesity in humans,” said Ferreira.
It’s also possible, said researchers, that citrus could be beneficial
to people who are not obese but eat a fatty, Western-style diet, she
said. Ferreira said the best way to get flavanones is to drink them,
like orange juice.
“Many of the citrus juices, because citrus juice has high amounts of ... these compounds.”
The researchers presented their findings at the American Chemical
Society’s annual meeting in Pennsylvania, the largest scientific society
in the world.
Investigators next plan to conduct human studies, to see whether it’s
healthier to give citrus flavanones in juice or pill form, or whether
they have the same effect.
