Tuesday June 3, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- Researchers tested pomegranate, milk thistle, green tea, grapes, goji, and acai and found that among the tested supplements, pomegranate is the most potent antioxidant.

The antioxidant activity prior to digestion was ranked as follows from the most potent to the weakest, pomegranate > resveratrol > green tea > grape seed > milk thistle.  Goji has little antioxidant activity and acai has a varying amount of antioxidant activity depending upon the brand.

After in vitro simulated digestion, the antioxidant activity was found increased in pomegranate, resveratrol, milk thistle, goji, and acai and decreased in green tea and grape seed.

In the tested antioxidant supplements, polyphenols are the major ingredients responsible for the antioxidant potency of the tested supplements.

It should be noted that many dietary supplements can be used as antioxidants in addition to what were tested in this study.   Most notable antioxidants are vitamin C, vitamin E, astaxanthin, and lipoic acid.   And many vegetables are rich in antioxidants with red beans having high amounts of antioxidant ingredients.  (David Liu, PHD)

Reference

Henning SM, Zhang Y, Rontoyanni VG, Huang J, Lee RP, Trang A, Nuernberger G, Heber D.   Variability in the Antioxidant Activity of Dietary Supplements from Pomegranate, Milk Thistle, Green Tea, Grape Seed, Goji, and Acai: Effects of in Vitro Digestion.  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2014 Apr 29.