Research Laboratory in Applied Food Science, INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Laval, Quebec, Canada.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2010 Aug;50(7):666-79. doi: 10.1080/10408390903044107.
Cranberries are healthy fruit that contribute color, flavor, nutritional value, and functionality. They are one of only three fruits native to America. Over the past decade, public interest for the North American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) has been rising with reports of their potential health benefits linked to the numerous phytochemicals present in the fruit--the anthocyanins, the flavonols, the flavan-3-ols, the proanthocyanidins, and the phenolic acid derivatives. The presence of these phytochemicals appears to be responsible for the cranberry property of preventing many diseases and infections, including cardiovascular diseases, various cancers, and infections involving the urinary tract, dental health, and Helicobacter pylori-induced stomach ulcers and cancers. Recent years have seen important breakthroughs in our understanding of the mechanisms through which these compounds exert their beneficial biological effects, yet these remain to be scientifically substantiated. In this paper these characteristics, as well as the antioxidant, radical scavenging, antibacterial, antimutagen, and anticarcinogen properties of cranberry major bioactive compounds are explained.
蔓越莓是一种健康的水果，具有颜色、风味、营养价值和功能性。它们是仅有的三种原产于美洲的水果之一。在过去的十年中，由于报道称蔓越莓（Vaccinium macrocarpon）中存在的多种植物化学物质与许多潜在的健康益处有关，如花青素、类黄酮、黄烷醇、原花青素和酚酸衍生物，因此人们对北美蔓越莓的兴趣日益浓厚。这些植物化学物质的存在似乎是蔓越莓具有预防许多疾病和感染的特性的原因，包括心血管疾病、各种癌症以及涉及泌尿道、口腔健康和幽门螺杆菌引起的胃溃疡和癌症的感染。近年来，我们对这些化合物发挥有益的生物学作用的机制有了重要的认识，但这些仍然需要科学证实。本文将解释蔓越莓主要生物活性化合物的这些特性，以及抗氧化、清除自由基、抗菌、抗突变和抗癌特性。
