Food Safety
Blueberries Help Fight Cancer
Recent evidence from epidemiological studies shows that diets rich in fruits and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases including cancer. Blueberries have been considered to be one of the fruits with the highest polyphenol contents and antioxidant potentials. Some studies suggest that blueberry extracts can inhibit cell proliferation of cervical and breast cancer lines and increase activity of enzymes that prevent cancer initiation.
Georgia is the fifth-ranked blueberry producer in the nation. The great opportunity for a health market for Georgia blueberries may be in promoting them as a healthy food.
UGA food scientists focused on evaluating the effect of processing and storage on the chemo-preventive properties of blueberry extracts/juice. They hope the basic knowledge obtained from this study will help in understanding how blueberry consumption affects human physiology as well as its purported health-promoting and disease-preventing properties.
They also believe the findings from this study will have direct economic impact on the Georgia blueberry industry and will attract food and pharmaceutical industries to Georgia as a major nutraceutical and functional food raw material producer/supplier. (2006)
Sources
| Name | Department | |
| Casimir Akoh | cakoh@uga.edu | Food Science and Technology |
| Gerard Krewer | gkrewer@uga.edu | Horticulture |
| Joan Fischer | jfischer@fcs.uga.edu | College of Family and Consumer Sciences |