A healthy cocktail
A healthy cocktail
While exploring ways to help keep strawberries fresh during storage, researchers from Thailand and the US discovered that treating the berries with alcohol led to an increase in the antioxidant capacity and free radical- scavenging activity within the fruit. This helped the berries resist decay and is also expected to make them healthier to eat.
Dr Korakot Chanjirakul and colleagues at Kasetsart University in Thailand, in collaboration with scientists at the United States department of agriculture, tested the berries with ethanol and found that the treatment improved the physiological properties of the fruit. Coloured berries such as strawberries contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. Consumption of these compounds has been linked to the prevention of diseases ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders. They work by helping to mop up damaging free radicals produced naturally during a person’s normal metabolism. Other berries tested with alcohol showed the same result. So, if you do not like strawberry daiquiri, try blackberry-crowned champagne instead.
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