WAGENINGEN, Netherlands, March 31 (UPI) -- Dutch researchers say raspberries may have 10 times more anti-oxidants than tomatoes or broccoli, and may contain anti-oxidants rarely found elsewhere.
Researchers from Plant Research International in Wageningen, the Netherlands, said flash freezing raspberries in liquid nitrogen and storing them at minus 20 degrees Celsius destroys much of the vitamin C, but the anti-oxidant capacity remains. Processing the berry into jams may alter some of the anti-oxidants, but most of the valuable compounds remain, the researchers say.
"Raspberries contain vitamin C and anthocyanines, but these can also be found in other products," says Jules Beekwilder. "However, approximately 50 percent of the anti-oxidant effect of raspberries is caused by ellagitannins. These you find in small doses in strawberries and practically nowhere else."
Some Chinese herbs may also be a source of those compounds, said the study published in BioFactors.
