Forget antioxidant pills, just stick with gooseberry

Washington: A team of researchers has discovered that gooseberry skin and pulp contained higher antioxidant activity than other berries such as blueberries and cranberries.

The exotic Ceylon gooseberry fruit is an attractive purple berry that is produced in the southwest tropics of Brazil and is often used in jams and drinks and also sold as a fresh fruit.

Gooseberries contain high levels of phytochemicals, which have been reported in several studies to prevent oxidative stress that can cause cancer and heart disease. Gooseberry skin could potentially be a source of natural colorants and antioxidants for use in food manufacturing.

The researchers from the department of food science, food engineering school, Campinas State University in Brazil were the first to study the nutritional composition and antioxidant capacity of the gooseberry fruit.

The study is published in the Journal of Food Science.