Eggplant has High Antioxidant Levels

WASHINGTON - Jan 8/04 - SNS -- USDA researchers have confirmed eggplants contain high levels of chlorogenic acid, one of the most powerful antioxidants produced in plant tissues and one which may protect the body's cells against oxidative damage.

Phenolic acids are a simple class of antioxidant phenylpropanoid compounds. Plants produce many different phenylpropanoids to protect themselves against stress and infection.

Geneticist John R. Stommel of the ARS Vegetable Laboratory and plant physiologist Bruce D. Whitaker of the ARS Produce Quality and Safety Laboratory conducted the research. Both labs are part of the ARS Henry A. Wallace Beltsville (Md.) Agricultural Research Center. The scientists studied seven eggplant cultivars grown commercially in the United States, and a diverse collection of exotic and wild eggplant from other countries.

In addition to chlorogenic acid, the researchers found 13 other phenolic acids present at varying levels in the commercial cultivars. They also identified several phenolic compounds in two of the wild eggplant relatives that had never before been isolated from plants.

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