Why are fruits and vegetables healthy?

Food chemists in Wuppertal are researching the effects of fruit and vegetables

20-Aug-2020 - Germany

Why are fruits and vegetables healthy? This question is being investigated by food chemists* at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal under the direction of Prof. Dr. Nils Helge Schebb. In one of their studies they have now succeeded in describing a possible new mechanism of action of the ingredients of these food groups. The results were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The journal, which is published by the American Chemical Society, is one of the most renowned in the field of food chemistry.

"One should really follow the recommendation of the German Society for Nutrition to eat five portions of fruit and especially vegetables a day, because they contain many minerals and vitamins," advises Prof. Schebb, head of the Department of Food Chemistry. It has often been proven that the regular consumption of fruit and vegetables has a positive effect on the lifespan and health of people. The question of "why" remains: "How this effect is mediated on the molecular level is still controversial," said Schebb.

Apart from essential vitamins and trace elements, the effect of fruit and vegetables depends in particular on the substance class of so-called polyphenols. For a long time, researchers assumed that these substances have a positive effect as "antioxidants" by protecting the body from harmful metabolic products. However, it could not be clearly proven that there is really an "antioxidative" effect in the human body after ingestion of these compounds. Now the Wuppertal research group has discovered a possible new mechanism by which the polyphenols - and thus fruit and vegetables - can act.

PhD student Nadja Kampschulte shows that polyphenols can inhibit a certain family of enzymes, so-called cytochrome P450 monooxygenases. "Polyphenols specifically inhibit the formation of different lipid mediators catalysed by P450 enzymes," said Kampschulte. Lipid mediators are involved in the regulation of numerous processes in the body, for example blood pressure, but also inflammatory reactions. Kampschulte further explains: "These lipid mediators have completely different effects and the selective inhibition of the formation of some of these mediators through polyphenols might have a positive effect with regard to chronic diseases".

In the present study, the effect was demonstrated on the basis of enzymes from human liver biopsies and in cultured intestinal cells. Current work of the Wuppertal group is aimed at investigating the relationship between the effect of polyphenols and their chemical structure in greater detail and thus contribute to establishing the relevance of this mechanism of action for human health.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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