Kiwifruit Antioxidants are Top Performers on Bioavailability

While there are many richly colored fruits high in antioxidants, not all fruits are created equal when it comes to their antioxidant powers in the body.

According to a recent human study conducted by researchers at the USDA’s Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center in Little Rock, the antioxidants in certain fruits and berries are more efficiently metabolized and absorbed into the bloodstream than others. A comparison study among kiwifruit, red grapes and strawberries showed the antioxidants in kiwifruit to be the most easily absorbed by the body.

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Press Release – Kiwifruit Antioxidant Power in Quantity and Quality	PDF
Published Article – Plasma Antioxidant Capacity Changes Following a Meal as a Measure of the Ability of a Food to Alter In Vivo Antioxidant Status. Journal of the AmericanCollege of Nutrition, Vol. 26, No. 2, 170–181 (2007). Authors: Prior R, Gu L, Wu X, et al.

GOLD Kiwifruit May Boost Natural Defenses

A recent published in Food and Agricultural Immunology provides more promising evidence that kiwifruit can help improve the body’s natural defense response.

A study conducted by scientists at Bioactives Research New Zealand showed that mice consuming kiwifruit extract – an extract of both ZESPRI® GOLD and ZESPRI® GREEN kiwifruit – had a far better immune response to two types of vaccination, both in the levels of antibodies produced against the vaccinations in blood and surface cells, and in the levels of protective innate immunity cells, which the body uses to identify and destroy harmful processes in the body.

These findings complement those of an earlier study which also demonstrated a positive effect of ZESPRI® GOLD Kiwifruit on immune responses.

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Press Release – GOLD Kiwifruit May Boost Natural Defenses	PDF
Published Article – Kiwifruit extract enhances markers of innate and acquired immunity in a murine model. Food and Agricultural Immunology, Vol. 19, Issue 2, 149 – 161 (June 2008). Authors: Shu Q, Mendis De Silva U, Chen S, Peng W, Ahmed M, Lu G, Yin Y, Liu A, Drummond L.
Published Article – Feeding ZESPRI® GOLD Kiwifruit puree to mice enhances serum immunoglobulins specific for ovalbumin and stimulates ovalbumin-specific mesenteric lymph node cell proliferation in response to orally administered ovalbumin. Nutrition Research, Vol. 28, Issue 4, 251-257 (April 2008). Authors: Denise C. Hunter, Michel Denis, Natalie A. Parlane, Bryce M. Buddle, Lesley M. Stevenson, Margot A. Skinner