2003 2004 Specialty Crops Grant to CAAC

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2003 2004 Specialty Crops Grant to CAAC

• Assessment of Antioxidant Properties of Colorado
  Apples Compared to Competing Production Regions

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Grant Details

• Submitted by Colo. Apple Administrative
  Committee
• Technical Advisor Dr. Cecil Stushnoff, Dept. of
  Hort. L.A., Colo. St. Univ., Ft. Collins, CO
• Total Grant Funds 3,600 (1,200 CAAC 2,400
  Colo. Specialty Crops Program)
• Duration 12 mo. (5/1/03 4/30/04)

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Basis for Proposal

• Ongoing research by Dr. Cecil Stushnoff, CSU
  Dept. of Hort. Landscape Architecture, on
  antioxidants in apples. (gave talk on apple
  antioxidants at 2003 WCHS Convention)
• Disease incidence has been linked potentially to
  increase in free radicals in our environment
• Antioxidants scavenge (reduce numbers) of free
  radicals

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Incidence of Cancer Continues to Increase
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Diet Heart Disease
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Free Radicals

• Free radicals have a very short life, but are
  extremely reactive chemical species that damage
  almost every other molecule (DNA, protein,
  lipids)
• Free radicals may trigger cancer and cardiac
  diseases

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Antioxidants

• Antioxidants protect against free radicals
• Apple flavonoids and other phenolics are potent
  antioxidants
• Apple extracts were shown to inhibit division of
  kidney and liver cancer cells (Eberhardt et al.,
  2000)

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Antioxidants

• Red wine contains 1500 to 2500 mg/L total
  phenolics
• Commercial apple juice contains 15 to 25 mg/L
  total phenolics
• Cider apples and some species contain 300-4100
  mg/L total phenolics

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Why should we be interested in apple antioxidants?

• Public awareness of health benefits.
• High antioxidant cider cultivars may be used to
  develop value-added juices.
• Some very high antioxidant species may provide
  valuable medical benefits such as in diabetes and
  obesity.
• We need to know which environments produce the
  healthiest apples.

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Apple Antioxidants

• Flavonols (e.g. quercetin)
• Flavan-3-ols (e.g. catechin)
• Anthocyanins
• Chlorogenic, caffeic, gallic acids
• Dihydrochalcone (Phlorizin)
• Vitamin C

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Antioxidant Content Capacity

• Total phenolics - Folin Ciocalteu
• ABTS assay generates ABTS radical and measures
  its disappearance as it is scavenged by juice or
  tissue extracts
• ABTS is expressed as Trolox (water soluble vit. E
  analogue (TEAC)

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Background Studies - Results

• Total phenolic content is very diverse (15-7181
  mg/L) but skewed toward the low end
• Commercial cultivars are lowest
• Species range (376-7181 mg/L)
• M. sieversii Kazakhstan (100-600 mg/L)

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Influence of Location on Total Phenolics in Apple
Taxa
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Total Phenolics, 2001
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Commercial Cultivars
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Grant Objectives

• Look at diversity of antioxidant content in
  Colorado and non-Colorado-produced apple fruit
• Compare antioxidant content in Colorado-produced
  apples with that found in apples from other
  growing areas
• Determine if such differences might provide a
  promotion advantage for Colo-produced apples.

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Project Methods

• Obtain fruit (cold store as needed)
• 7 apple cvs
• Source locations CO, WA, CA
• Diversity of CO areas (e.g., Mesa Co.,
  Cedaredge, Paonia, Olathe, Hotchkiss)
• Assess fruit maturity (need equal maturity for
  evaluation samples)
• Select ship 2 samples/location/cv where
  possible (CSU Hort lab)
• Analyze (at CSU Hort lab)

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Current Project Timeline / Status

• Need to make arrangements to obtain fruit samples
  from packing sheds in WA, CA, CO
• Cvs for testing Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious,
  Granny Smith, Jonagold, Jonathan, Pink Lady
• Plan collect samples, store at OMRC, evaluate
  fruit maturity to select samples
• CSU lab awaiting samples (graduate student with
  time available this fall)

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Current Project Timeline (Contd.)

• Graduate student (from Glenwood Springs) will
  transport samples to campus on 3 4 occasions
  through season (Sept. , Oct., Nov.)
• CSU lab will analyze fruit for antioxidant
  content (total phenolics for all samples
  scavenging potential for samples w/ relatively
  high total phenolic content)

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Current Project Timeline (Contd.)

• Evaluate results summarize (Nov. Dec., 2003)
• Report results back to CAAC (Dec. 2003 Jan.
  2004)
• Prepare and share report of results back to CAAC
  at the 2004 WCHS Convention at next CAAC Annual
  meeting (2004)

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Related Work on Apple Cider

• Graduate student has evaluated juice from a
  selected group of apple cvs noted for cider
  potential. Substantial differences were found,
  some cvs w/ good potential.
• Another student has evaluated 6 different hard
  ciders for phenolics and radical scavenging.
  Values observed range between those for red wine
  and white wine

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Hard Cider Antioxidant Contents
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Acknowledgements
USDA/ARS/PGRU Malus/Apple Crop Germplasm
Cmte. Phillip Forsline, USDA/ARS, Geneva,
NY James Luby, Univ. of MN Ann McSay, Emma Locke,
Mohamed Shahba, CSU Carolyn Lister, Paula Wilson,
CRI, Lincoln, NZ