08/09/2018 / By Frances Bloomfield
Doctors aren’t the only ones that apples keep away: Research has shown that the fruit can also keep aging at bay, thanks to its wealth of beneficial nutrients.
The study, published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, identified that the Annurca apple, a variety grown in southern Italy, is capable of slowing down aging by reducing oxidative stress on cells. These apples, in particular, have the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds among other apple cultivars. This led to Annurca apples having potent anti-aging and antioxidant effects, which the researchers tested in three experiments.
To determine cell viability, researchers exposed brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to Annurca apple extracts. This allowed the team to observe the cells’ ability to create microcolonies using a yeast extract peptone dextrose (YPD) agar for 24 hours. A viability spot assay was carried out as well.
Researchers also conducted a hydrogen peroxide sensitivity assay to evaluate the extract’s ability to protect against oxidative stress. This involved subjecting rapid-growing cells to varying amounts of hydrogen peroxide at 28 Celsius for four hours, then counting the microcolonies afterward. Finally, the researchers studied the cells’ mitochondrial morphology under a fluorescent microscope following the addition of plasmid pYX232-mtGFP.
The results showed that a 10 mg/mL dosage of apple extract had the most significant and positive impact, in terms of extending cell viability even after several days of growth. The same dose enhanced cell survival until the third dilution in the viability spot assay and better protected the yeast cells that had been exposed to hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, analysis of mitochondrial morphology revealed that the number of fragmented nuclei dipped from 62.3 percent to 8.1 percent after three days of growth with 10 mg/ml of apple extract.
“We found that the apple extracts can extend yeast lifespan and reduce ROS [reactive oxygen species] levels protecting cells from oxidative stress,” the researchers concluded. (Related: Apples could hold key for increasing lifespan.)
If you want time to pass a little slower, there a lot of worse things you can do than munch on an apple a day. Still, if you need more reasons to make apples a regular part of your diet, here are some healthy ones:
If you’d like to learn more about apples, visit FoodScience.news for studies and news articles about this amazing fruit.
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