Avocados (Persea americana)

Avocado Grove in Western Bay of Plenty –New Zealand

Avocado ( Persea americana)

• Member of the Lauraceae family• Common names include Avocado, Alligator

Pear, Midshipman's butter, Vegetable butter, Butter pear, Cura, Cupandra, Aguacate, Palta, Abacate, and Avocatier

• Leaf and seed extracts have been used for a variety of medical application, including treatment of diarrhea and dysentery and as an antibiotic

Avocado varieties

• Guatemalan (Persea nubigena var. guatamalensis L. Wms.),

• Mexican (P. americana var. drymifolia Blake), • West Indian (P. americana Mill. var.

americana). • Hybrid forms exist between all three types

Guatemalan vs. Mexican Varieties

UC Riverside

1856Before 1850

Growing Avocados From Seed

Sense.datum.org

Stanley warren

Commercial Production

Grafting Avocados

Brokaw Nursery LLC

Leading Avocado producing countries in 2000 based on yield* of all varieties

• Mexico 939,118• United States 164,500• Chile 100,000• Spain 68,000• South Africa 64,000• Israel 53,400• Australia 20,200• New Zealand 14,000

-Calavo Growers

*Numeric Figures in Metric Tons

Leading Countries that consume imported avocados are as follows:

• USA• France• Canada• UK• Germany• Scandinavian Countries• Japan• Hong Kong

-Calavo Growers

Hawaiian Grown Cultivars

Hass Avocado

- Accounts for more than ¾ total grown avocados worldwide

Avocado Harvest

Calavo Growers

Avocado Packing

Grove Maintenance

Orange County Libraries

Common Avocado Dishes

Avocado Products

Health Benefits

• Avocados contain “good” unsaturated (mono- and poly) fats that do not raise cholesterol (80%) - Scientific Dietary Guidelines

• Excellent source of folate (folic acid), a B vitamin that reduces the risk of serious types of birth defects, heart disease, and cancers.

Health Benefits

• “Avocados are believed to contain ounce for ounce more protein, potassium, magnesium, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, pantothenic acid, vitamin E, and vitamin K than any of the top 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits.”

(Duester, K.C.)

Top 20 Consumed Raw Fruits• banana• apple• watermelon• orange onion• cantaloupe• grape• grapefruit• strawberry• peach• pear• nectarine• honeydew melon• plum• avocado• lemon• pineapple• tangerine• sweet cherry• kiwi fruit• lime

Avocado 14th most consumed fruit

• Top 5 Fruits* for Vitamin E Content (Per 100g Raw, Edible Portion Fruit)

• 1 - Avocado 4.31 IU2 - Kiwifruit 1.67 IU3 - Nectarine 1.33 IU4 - Grapes 1.04 IU4 - Peach 1.04 IU

• Source for data: UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. • Top 5 Fruits* for Lutein Content

(Per 100g Raw, Edible Portion Fruit)• 1 - Avocado 293 mcg

2 - Plum 240 mcg3 - Kiwifruit 180 mcg4 - Pear 110 mcg5 - Grapes 72 mcg

• Source for all data: UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and USDA Carotenoid Database. • Top 5 Fruits* for Glutathione Content

Per 100g Raw, Edible Portion Fruit)• 1 - Avocado 27.7 mg

2 - Lemon 8.7 mg3 - Grapefruit 7.9 mg4 - Nectarine 7.4 mg4 - Peach 7.4 mg

• Source for all data: Jones DP, et. al. Nutrition & Cancer 17:57-75, 1992. • Top 5 Fruits* for Beta-Sitosterol

Per 100g Raw, Edible Portion Fruit) • 1 - Avocado 76 mg

2 - Orange 17 mg3 - Cherries 12 mg4 - Apple (w Peel) 11 mg4 - Banana 11 mg

• Sources for data: Duester KC, JADA 101(4), 2001, and Weihrauch JL & Gardner JM, JADA 73(1), 1978.

*Based on the 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits in the United States

Health Benefits

Nutritional label of an Avocado

Sterols Found in Avocado

www.RSC.org

How Sterols Work

- Involves the circulation of Bile acids that are synthesized from cholesterol in the liver to the small intestine.

- Bile acids are required for disposal of cholesterol and absorption of fats and vitamins.

- 4 phase I enzymes involved (CYP7a, CYP12, CYP27, CYP7B)

- 3 stage Process that modifies the sterol ring

- Yields beta-sitosterol, campesterol, and cholesterol

-http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/reaction/terp/cholesterol.html

(Chiang, J)

How Sterols Work (continued)- Cholic Acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), Together will form an amino

acid (glycine or taurine)- Taurine - Strengthens the heart muscle, boosts vision, and helps prevent macular

degeneration; is the key component of bile, which is needed for the digestion of fats; useful for people with atherosclerosis, edema, heart disorders, hypertension, or hypoglycemia; is vital for the proper utilization of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium; helps prevent the development of potentially dangerous cardiac arrhythmias; has been used to treat anxiety, epilepsy, hyperactivity, poor brain function, and seizures. - Austin Nutritional Research

- Glycine is a non-essential amino acid used by an organism to synthesise proteins and is present in foods such as fish, meat or dairy products. The study, carried out at the Cellular Metabolism Institute in Tenerife and at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Granada , established that the direct intake of this substance as a food additive helps to prevent arthrosis and other degenerative diseases, in addition to other diseases related to a weakness in the mechanical structure of the organism, including the difficulty of repairing physical injuries.

- Will either be re-absorbed or excreted by the gut

Additional Cholesterol Information http://www.indstate.edu/thcme/mwking/cholesterol.html

Phytosterols• Derived from Sterols• Found only in plants• Naturally occurring hydrophobic and

hydrophilic lipids synthesized from Acetyl-CoA enzymes

• Act as cholesterol lowering mechanisms and have been used for the treatment of cancer, gallstones, HIV and Tuberculosis

• Low lipid absorption(Cork, Mills, Lu, Duester K,C.)

Phytosterols

• Beta-sitosterol most abundant Phytosterol in avocado 76 mg/100g

• Campesterol 5.1 mg/100g• Stigmasterol < 3 mg/100g

Duester K.C.

LUTEIN

Lutein Structure

Sources of Lutein

• 70% total carotenoid content in avocado has been reported to be lutein

• Other sources include kale, spinach, oranges, and tomatoes

Proposed Roles

• There currently exists no concrete evidence identifying lutein’s role and/or benefit to the human body

• Current research is investigating lutein’s possible contribution to:– Eye health and reduced risk of associated age-

related diseases– Prostate cancer

Lutein and the Human Eye

• Lutein is believed to be concentrated in the retina and the lens of the eye

• Together with zeaxanthin, lutein is responsible for macular pigment

• The retina has a high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids

Lutein as an Antioxidant in Eye Health

Lutein is Fat Soluble

Lutein

AREDS 2

• The oral supplement distributed to subjects participating in the AREDS 2 study contains lutein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

• Studies have highlighted fat’s integral role in increasing bioavailability of carotenoids such as lutein.

Lutein and Prostate Cancer

• Lutein has also been implicated by recent research to possess potential anti-carcinogenic characteristics

• Specifically, in human prostate cancer cell lines.

Glutathione: The “master antioxidant ”

Overview:• What is Glutathione?• Where is it found?• Glutathione’s involvement with disease.

What is Glutathione?• Glutathione is a small protein

tripeptide which contains the three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine.

• The role of glutathione is to protect cells from free radicals and other toxins.

• Glutathione has many times been described as the body’s, “master antioxidant” making it one of the most important agents for healing.

Glutathione

Properties

Molecular formula

C10H17N3O6S

Molar mass 307.325

What is Glutathione• Glutathione is important as a

hydrophilic molecule that is added to fat dissolving toxins, called lipophilic toxins, and waste in the liver during biotransformation.

• Glutathione is needed for the detoxification of methylglyoxal, which is a toxin produced during the process of metabolism.

• Glutathione is responsible for the reconstitution of vitamins C and E after oxidation, and therefore is very important to the function and role of these antioxidant vitamins.

Where is it found? • It is created in the human cell but has

been found in the liver and lungs.

• The liver is the responsible organ involved in detoxification and elimination of harmful toxic materials in the human body.

• The ability of a cell to make glutathione is dependent on the supply of glutathione materials, or glutathione precursors, especially included is the amino acid, cysteine.

Where is it found?• In foods dietary glutathione can be found in fresh or

frozen fruits and vegetables, fish, and other meats. Particularly, asparagus, avocado, and walnuts are shown to be foods that have larger sources of dietary glutathione.

Glutathione’s involvement with disease.

• Low levels of glutathione have been found in individuals with degenerative neurological diseases such as:

-multiple sclerosis-ALS

-Alzheimer’s -Parkinson’s disease • Glutathione deficiency also is found in individuals suffering from:

-atherosclerosis -pregnancy complications-cancer -low survival rates of AIDS patients-immune system compromised individuals

Glutathione’s involvement with disease.

• Examples of some other health conditions that are associated with glutathione deficiency include:

-diabetes -low sperm counts in men -liver disease -cataracts -respiratory distress syndrome -idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

• Cigarette smoking is associated with low glutathione levels because it increases the rate of utilization of glutathione.

Glutathione’s involvement with disease.

• Individuals with high levels of glutathione have been found to have fewer incidents of:

-heart disease-premature aging-cancer-AIDS-other chronic diseases.

Questions?