Originally published September 19 2005
Citrus peels have cholesterol-reducing flavonoids
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Researchers have found that citrus peels contain polymethoxylated flavones, or PMFs, which may be useful in lowering cholesterol.
John A. Manthey, a chemist at the Winter Haven lab, is known for his work on citrus flavonoids in peel byproducts.
His work has mainly focused on polymethoxylated flavones, or PMFs, which typically occur at very high concentrations in orange oil, especially in residues left behind after orange-oil processing.
Manthey's research has shown that PMFs decrease blood serum levels of apoprotein B, the structural protein of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood.
Manthey's work on PMFs began 8 years ago, when he met scientists from KGK Synergize of London, Ontario, Canada.
Sometimes called "functional foods," nutraceuticals are natural, bioactive chemical compounds with disease-preventing or medicinal properties.
The original collaboration between ARS and KGK Synergize involved studies of anticancer properties of citrus PMFs, but it then expanded into investigations of the compounds' abilities to lower LDL cholesterol in animals.
Subsequent ARS feeding trials with hamsters demonstrated significant cholesterol- and triglyceride-lowering actions of PMFs: At 1 percent of the diet, PMFs lowered blood plasma levels of LDL, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides by 30-40 percent.
A diet of 0.25 percent PMFs resulted in smaller decreases in LDL and VLDL cholesterol, but decreases in triglycerides were as large as those occurring at higher PMF doses.
These findingsare the basis of human trials, currently being conducted by KGK, on the cholesterol-lowering properties of PMFs.
Manthey's previous research also provided evidence of anti-inflammatory actions of PMFs in animals---another mechanism by which the compounds may protect against cardiovascular disease.
Similar studies of cardioprotection have been started by Manthey and postdoctoral researcher Kanjana Mahatannahee on flavonoids and related phenols in select Florida-grown tropical fruits---such as mamey, guava, dragon fruit, and carambola.
Scientists have found these to be extremely high in phenolic antioxidants.
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