Procyanidin B-2 is a TGF-B inhibitor

[Jacob]

Thanks to Kofi over at altbaldspot for this. Another reason why I'd like the apple peel extract in my next topical..even if gse and rooibos contain some.


_________________________-


Procyanidin B-2 is a TGF-B inhibitor, similar to ellagic acid, which
has been shown to have hair growth promoting activities in quantity.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 234141.htm


Source:
American Chemical Society


Date:
2005-05-23
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Red Delicious, Northern Spy Apples Have Most Antioxidants, Chemists Find


Some apples might do a better job of keeping the doctor away than
others, according to Canadian researchers who analyzed eight popular
varieties of the fruit. Red Delicious, Northern Spy and Ida Red, they
say, pack a greater wallop of disease-fighting antioxidants than other
apples studied.


The researchers, led by Rong Tsao, Ph.D., of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada in Guelph, Ontario, also pinpointed the individual chemical
compounds responsible for antioxidant activity in apples. The findings
could lead to the breeding of hybrid apples that pack a heftier
antioxidant punch.


The report appears in the June 29 issue of the American Chemical
Societys peer-reviewed Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. ACS
is the worlds largest scientific society.


Researchers have long known that apples are a good source of
antioxidants, a group of chemicals that scavenge and neutralize unstable
molecules called free radicals. Free radicals, which can wreak havoc on
cells and tissues, appear to play a role in the onset of heart disease
and prostate, colon and other cancers.


Polyphenols phytochemicals that act like astringents are major sources
of antioxidants in apples, but which polyphenols are most active in the
fruit has perplexed scientists. Tsao and his colleagues used three
different laboratory measures to evaluate polyphenol activity in apples
that are popular in Canada: Red Delicious, McIntosh, Cortland, Northern
Spy, Ida Red, Golden Delicious, Mutsu and Empire apples. However, the
researchers did not include a number of other apples popular in the
United States including Gala, Granny Smith, Jonathan, York, Stayman and
Rome. All of the apples used in the study were grown on the same farm
under similar conditions.


The researchers found:


* Polyphenols were five times more prevalent in the skin than the flesh
of the apples.


* Two polyphenols, epicatechin and procyanidin B2, were the greatest
contributors to total antioxidant activity of the apples. Procyanidins
accounted for about 60 percent of the antioxidant activity in the peel
and 56 percent in the flesh.


* Red Delicious apples had two times more antioxidant activity than
Empire apples, which had the least activity of any of the apples studied.


When taste and texture do not matter, choosing an apple with a high
proportion of polyphenols in the flesh and skin can potentially produce
more health benefits, Tsao said. But eating any apple is better than
eating no apple at all.


Elsewhere, three recent studies by researchers at Cornell University in
New York offer plenty of other reasons to eat more apples:


* Alzheimers disease. In rats, quercetin another potent antioxidant
abundant in apples appears to protect brain cells against oxidative
stress, a tissuedamaging process associated with Alzheimers and other
neurodegenerative disorders. This study was published in the December 1,
2004, issue of Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.


* Heart disease. Antioxidants found in apple extracts could potentially
lower "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein, or LDL) by stimulating
the production of LDL receptors in the liver, which help remove
cholesterol from the blood. This mechanism is similar to that of statin
drugs, researchers say. In March, these findings were presented at the
ACS national meeting in San Diego.


* Breast cancer. Rats exposed to a known carcinogen and then fed the
human equivalent of one, three or six apples a day respectively over 24
weeks were up to 44 percent less likely to develop breast tumors. That
study was published in the April 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry.


###


The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization, chartered by
the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than
158,000 chemists and chemical engineers. It publishes numerous
scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences
and provides educational, science policy and career programs in
chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.





Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here.
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This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American
Chemical Society.