Antioxidant in apple extends lifespan

Apples contain an antioxidant, nutrients which slowdown process of ageing and some ailments, that extends average lifespan by 10 percent, a study says.

The results, obtained with fruit flies in place of humans in hundreds of research projects each year, bolster similar findings on apple antioxidants in other animal tests.

Zhen-Yu Chen and colleagues from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, note that free radicals, harmful substances in the body, cause undesirable changes related to ageing and some diseases, reports the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Chen and colleagues note that the results support those from other studies, including one in which women who often ate apples had a 13-22 percent decrease in the risk of heart disease.

Fruits and vegetables, especially brightly coloured foods like tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries and apples, are excellent sources of antioxidants which can combat this damage, according to a Chinese University statement.

A previous study with other test animals hinted that an apple antioxidant could extend average lifespan. In this report, researchers studied whether different apple antioxidants, known as polyphenols, could do the same thing in fruit flies.

The researchers found that apple polyphenols not only prolonged the average lifespan of fruit flies but helped preserve their ability to walk, climb and move about.

Besides, apple polyphenols reversed the levels of various biochemical substances found in older fruit flies and used as markers for age-related deterioration and approaching death.