Citrus fruits, such as oranges and lemons, are good for our health because they are high in vitamin and substances.
In a recent study, researchers find that citrus fruits can protect us from obesity-related heart disease, liver disease, and diabetes. The finding is presented at the 252nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Researchers from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) in Brazil conducted the study. They did an experiment with 50 mice, treating them with flavanones found in oranges, limes and lemons. The flavanones they focused on were hesperidin, eriocitrin and eriodictyol.
For one month, researchers gave groups either a standard diet, a high-fat diet, a high-fat diet plus hesperidin, a high-fat diet plus eriocitrin or a high-fat diet plus eriodictyol.
The result showed that in the high-fat diet without the flavanones group, mice had increased cell damage by 80 percent in the blood and 57 percent in the liver compared to mice on a standard diet.
However, in the high-fat diet plus flavanones groups, mice had decreased cell damage in the liver by more than 50 percent, compared with mice fed a high-fat diet but not given flavanones.
In addition, eriocitrin and eriodictyol also reduced cell damage in the blood by 48 percent and 47 percent, respectively, in these mice. Finally, mice treated with hesperidin and eriodictyol had reduced fat accumulation and damage in the liver.
Researchers suggest that the flavanones in citrus fruits can help reduce oxidative stress, lower liver damage, and decrease blood lipids and blood glucose.
Common citrus fruits include oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, citrons and tangerines.
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Citation: Ferreira PS, et al. (2016). Citrus fruits could help prevent obesity-related heart disease, liver disease, diabetes. A presentation at the 252nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Philadelphia.
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