DAVIS, Calif., May 30 (UPI) -- Cutting and packaging fruit had almost no affect on Vitamin C and other antioxidants, according to a study by the University of California-Davis.
The researchers obtained pineapples, mangoes, cantaloupes, watermelons, strawberries and kiwifruits from wholesale commercial sources in California. The fruit was taken to a laboratory at the University of California in Davis and half of each lot was processed as fresh-cut and half left whole.
Both lots were refrigerated under identical conditions for nine days and then tested for nutrient content, which showed only small losses of antioxidant compounds in the cut fruit compared to fruit left whole.
In fact, levels of some antioxidants in fresh-cut mango and watermelon actually increased due to exposure to light, according to the study published in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
