THE GRAPEFRUIT IS A subtropical citrus tree known for its bitter fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found it was named the "forbidden fruit", it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock, one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange.
The fruit has become popular since the late 19th century; before that it was only grown as an ornamental plant. The United States quickly became a major producer of the fruit, with orchards in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. In Spanish, the fruit is known as toronja or pomelo. One ancestor of the grapefruit was the Jamaican sweet orange, itself an ancient hybrid of Asian origin; the other was the Indonesian pomelo. One story of the fruit's origins is that a certain "Captain Shaddock" brought pomelo seeds to Jamaica and bred the first fruit. But it probably originated as a naturally-occurring hybrid.
Heart Health
Grapefruit, with pectin, slows down the progression of atherosclerosis. In one study, animals fed a high-cholesterol diet plus grapefruit pectin had 24% narrowing of their arteries, while animals fed the high-cholesterol diet without grapefruit pectin had 45% narrowing. Light and red grapefruit can reduce blood levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and red grapefruit lowers triglycerides also. Israeli researchers from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem first tested the antioxidant potential of light and red grapefruits and then their cholesterol-lowering potential in humans. The test tube research showed that red grapefruit contains more bioactive compounds and total polyphenols than blond, but both grapefruits are comparable in their content of fiber, phenolic and ascorbic acids, and the flavonoid, naringinen, although red grapefruit contains a few more flavonoids and anthocyanins. Both red and light skinned grapefruits show positively influenced cholesterol levels, but red grapefruit was more than twice as effective. Concerns: Compounds in grapefruit are known to increase circulating levels of several prescription drugs including statins. Therefore, the risk of muscle toxicity associated with statins may increase when grapefruit is eaten.
Cancer Protection
Lycopene, the chemicle pink color in the Grapefruit, is a carotenoid phytonutrient. Lycopene appears to have anti-tumor activity. Comparing men's consumption of lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apricots, pink grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, and guava show promising results. Men who most frequently enjoyed these foods were 82% less likely to have prostate cancer compared to those consuming the least lycopene-rich foods. While the Grapefruit is rich in vitamin C, new research presented at the 228th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society reveals the Grapefruit's ability to provide protection against lung and colon cancer. In humans, drinking three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit juice a day was demonstrated to reduce the activity of an enzyme that activates cancer-causing chemicals found in poisonious tobacco smoke.
Concerns
Grapefruit juice may be the first documented, but apple and orange juices have been also implicated in interfering with etoposide, a chemotherapy drug, some beta blocker drugs used to treat high blood pressure, and cyclosporine, taken by transplant patients to prevent rejection of their new organs.
Grapefruit can have a number of interactions with drugs, often increasing the effective potency of compounds. In the field of polyphenolic compounds, grapefruit contains the flavanone naringin, alongside the two furanocoumarins bergamottin and dihydroxybergamottin, which inhibit the protein isoform CYP3A4 predominately in the small intestine, but at higher doses, hepatic CYP3A4 inhibition is present as well. It is via inhibition of this enzyme that grapefruit increases the effects of a variety of drugs by increasing their bioavailability. The effect of grapefruit juice with regard to drug absorption was originally discovered in 1989. However, the effect became well-publicized after being responsible for a number of deaths due to overdosing on medication.
Unlike other fruits, grapefruit contains a large amount of naringin, and it can take up to 72 hours before the effects of the naringin on the CYP3A4 enzyme are seen. This is particularly problematic due to the fact that only 4 oz of grapefruit contain enough naringin to inhibit substrates of CYP3A4.
References
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Citrus_paradisi_(Grapefruit,_pink)_ white_bg.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit
- http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=25
- http://www.freephotos.com, http://mangel.freephotos.com/ ?photoid=12306&action=viewphoto
Apricots
