Exotic Fruit Packs Polyphenol Punch

Geoffroea decorticans (chanar) is a plant found in northwestern Argentina, and its fruit is processed into flour for consumption.  MS Costamagna, from the Universidad Nacional de Tucuman (Argentina), and colleagues conducted chemical analysis of 39 phenolic compounds in chanar fruit, finding that the compounds exhibited antioxidant activity and inhibited pro-inflammatory enzymes. Further, the team identified that the chanar flour contained 12% fiber and 5% protein.  The study authors submit that: “These findings add evidence that chanar fruit flour may be considered a functional food with preventive properties against diseases associated with oxidative stress, inflammatory mediators and metabolic syndrome. “