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Taylor and Francis Group, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 6(65), p. 708-712, 2014

DOI: 10.3109/09637486.2014.918591

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The ORAC/kcal ratio qualifies nutritional and functional properties of fruit juices, nectars, and fruit drinks

Journal article published in 2014 by Paolino Ninfali ORCID, Andrea Chiarabini, Donato Angelino
Distributing this paper is prohibited by the publisher
Distributing this paper is prohibited by the publisher

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Abstract

Fruit beverages are source of antioxidants, but their sugar content plays an important role in the epidemic of obesity. In this study, we considered 32 fruit beverages consumed in Italy (13 fruit juices, 11 nectars, and 8 fruit drinks), which were analyzed for caloric intake, total phenols (TP), ascorbic acid, and antioxidant capacity (oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) method). Results showed that the caloric intake was almost completely provided by the sugar content, ranging from 5.5 to 19%. The ORAC/kcal ratio was taken as an indicator of the antioxidant performance of fruit beverages. Fruit juices containing berries, red orange, and goji showed the best performances, together with berries or pears nectars and fruit drinks made with rose hips or tea extracts. The 95% of antioxidant capacity was provided by TP, which showed a significant linear correlation with the net ORAC values. Overall, the results indicate that the ORAC/kcal ratio is a suitable parameter to rank the quality of fruit beverages.