Elderberry, Black Currant, and Chokeberry Rank High for Antioxidant Content

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
Dec. 2, 2004

Purple berries may not be as popular as their red and blue counterparts, but researchers predict that we'll soon be seeing and eating a lot more of them, thanks to their high antioxidant content.

A new study shows that purple berries, such as elderberry, black currant, and chokeberry, are as much as 50% higher in antioxidants known as flavonoids than some of the more common berry varieties, such as blueberries and cranberries.

Researchers say those potent antioxidant concentrations will likely mean that purple berries will play a bigger role in the creation of health foods, drinks, and nutritional supplements designed to exploit the health benefits of antioxidants.

Antioxidants are believed to help prevent and repair oxidative stress, a process that damages cells within the body and has been linked to the development of a variety of diseases.

Researchers say among all common fruits and vegetables, berries have the highest antioxidant concentration, especially those with dark-colored skins. Although the antioxidant content of red and blue berries has been well-studied, researchers say less is known about so-called purple berries, such as elderberry, black currant, and chokeberry.

Purple Berries: Antioxidant Powerhouses

In the study, which will appear in the Dec. 15 print edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers analyzed the antioxidant content of several varieties of black currants, red currants, gooseberries, chokeberries, and elderberries.

The flavonoids found in these berries come in two main classes called anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins.

Researchers say these two classes of flavonoids account for a major portion of the flavonoids in the western diet and are of interest in nutrition and medicine because of their potential protective effects against disease.

Laboratory analysis showed that the chokeberry had the highest total anthocyanin concentration among the berries studied, and berries in general, with 1,480 mg per 100 grams of fresh berries. Gooseberries had the lowest concentration of this type of antioxidant.

Total proanthocyanidin concentrations ranged from 23 to 664 mg per 100 grams of fresh berries in elderberry and chokeberry, respectively.

Overall, chokeberries also had the highest antioxidant capacity and gooseberries had the lowest.

But the total antioxidant capacity of a food does not necessarily reflect their potential health benefits. Further studies will be needed to determine how well the antioxidants found in purple berries are digested and absorbed by the body.

SOURCES: Wu, X. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, online edition, Nov. 24, 2004. News release, American Chemical Society.

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Are chokeberries the same thing as chokecherries?

They are different plants, but I would assume the antioxidents would be in both. Both are relatively bitter, hence the 'choke' part of the name. Usually made into jams so that sweeteners can be added.

Ok, thanks.

Might have to whip up some elderberry wine, for medicinal purposes as always.

Hmm... what about boysenberries and black berries? I think they're purple. One of the things I love about low carbing is that I'm a berry fiend and they're allowed on the diet.

Aha.

Obviously, the berries need the antioxidants -- probably because as berries grow and mature they need to fight off a lot of free radicals.

But will the human body actually USE these plant antioxidants?

No one has a clue.

More non-information from the nutrition community.

I don't think the berries are exposed to a lot of free radicals. Maybe they are present because their means of spreading is for birds to ingest them and deposit them far and wide (or on my car). And birds might see the colored berries easier. Or maybe the flavonoids act as sunscreen for the juicy berries as they are exposed to direct sunlight. I suppose that could be considered to be protection from free radicals.

I doubt it. Nature doesn't waste resources like that. Berries wouldn't produce antioxidants to help out birds or human beings.

As I recall, plants have a real problem with free radicals, from living in the sun and all. They NEED the antioxidants themselves to sop up the free radicals that are generated by photosynthesis.

The big question is -- and no one has an answer -- is if these antioxidants do us humans any good when we ingest them? Are the digested and chopped up for fuel when we eat the fruit? Which would mean they aren't antioxidants any more. Or are they absorbed intact, and circulate in the blood and tissues, and used as antioxidants.

It's fashionable to talk about them as wonderful things, but fact is, no one knows if they do us any good as antioxidants or not.

Some researchers have even suggested that if fruits and berries NEED so many antioxidants themselves, they must generate a LOT of free radicals. Is it smart to eat something that has such problems with free radicals.

I'm not saying that antioxidants are good or they aren't. I'm just saying no one really knows. It's just fashion right now.