Compound in Oranges May Reduce Stroke Risk

Previously, a number of studies have suggested that Vitamin C exerts a protective effect in warding off stroke. Aedín Cassidy, from the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom), and colleagues completed an analysis of data compiled in the Nurses’ Health Study, finding that the vitamin did not correlate with either total or ischemic stroke risk. Instead, the researchers found that flavanone, an antioxidant compound found in oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits, seem to exert a modest stroke risk reduction. In their analysis of the data involving 69,622 women, who were followed for 14 years, the team found that women with the highest levels of flavanone were 19% less likely to have an ischemic stroke, as compared to those with the least flavanone intake. Positing that flavanone may exert a protective effect involving the nitric oxide pathway, the study authors conclude that: “Citrus fruit consumption may be associated with a reduction in stroke risk, and experimental data support these epidemiological associations that the flavanone content of citrus fruits may potentially be cardioprotective.”