Dietary Antioxidants Article

Grape Seed: The Most Powerful Antioxidant?

Antioxidants have been given so much attention and focus of late that everyone cannot help being aware of the health benefits derived from these antioxidants. The health and scientific communities are constantly making new discoveries and work hard at raising awareness on antioxidants and their health benefits.

Studies show that there are many different kinds of antioxidants. Every antioxidant has a different potency from the others and each one also has a different action from any of the other antioxidants. Some antioxidants help in increasing metabolism of fat while others work by helping to combat cancer. Scientists have been trying to ascertain which antioxidant is the most powerful among the various ones that are provided to us by nature.

The French have an interesting title for the antioxidant that is considered most powerful of all. They call it �Gift of the grape�. Time and again the question has been raised about what is the substance present in grapes that enable them to have such powerful antioxidant properties? What secret ingredient did grapes contain? Also why would these antioxidants be considered as the most powerful of all others?

This antioxidant that is considered most powerful, acts by strengthening weakened and fragile blood vessels. In the process, circulatory problems also get reversed or prevented from occurring.

Grape seed extract, which is now considered to be the most powerful of all antioxidants, has twenty times the power as compared to Vitamin C and fifty times more power as compared to Vitamin E. A VERIS Research Summary, done in December 1996, suggested that heart attacks were reduced by as much as 77% on taking a daily dose of 400 IU of Vitamin E. Which means the most powerful antioxidant would potentially offer much higher benefits. Grape seed extract appears to be a much stronger antioxidant as compared to Vitamin E. Because of its powerful antioxidant properties, grape seed extract is emerging as a natural alternative to be used in the treatment of patients who are suffering from heart disease.

It is the active ingredients that are present in grape seed that make it so powerful as an antioxidant. These active ingredients assist the body in neutralizing free radicals. In the process free radicals are prevented from causing any damage and any damage that has already been caused is repaired.

There are many active constituents in grape seed, which are very powerful antioxidants. One of these ingredients is oligomeric procynanidin or OPC, which is very proficient in treating vascular diseases by actually causing an increase in the structural strength of the blood vessels that have weakened.

The very first oligomeric procynanidin or OPC was isolated in 1947 from the peanut�s red skin. This discovery was made by Dr. Jack Masquelier, a French chemist. In the ensuing years, red wine also started being used as a source for OPC.