All the benefits of ellagic acid, a water-soluble antioxidant in the class of polyphenols. For a time, the scientific world was immersed in experiments on the study of its unique properties. They called it the future of proper treatment for all cancers, cardiovascular diseases and aging.
According to the results of many tests in laboratories around the world, there is a high degree of correlation between the total content of phenolic compounds and ellagic acid. The advantage of ellagic acid (EU) is in the fact that it does not change its structure when heated, frozen and remains in the products with any cooking methods.
And ellagic acid is found in foods available to everyone: in berries and nuts
Ellagic acid in food
According to the latest research, the content of ellagic acid in 100 g of raw nuts is as follows:
Walnut – 823 mg
Pecan – 301 mg
Chestnut – 149 mg
In all other nuts there are only traces of it, although antioxidants are presented in the form of other phenolic compounds, such as vitamin E in almonds – 30.9 mg / 100 g. Chestnut has a high content of ellagic acid not only in the fruit but also in leaves, albeit in much smaller quantities. We are talking about the food chestnut Castanea sativa (beech family).
Of the berries, ellagic acid contains a lot of wild strawberries. In 2012, a study was conducted in Turkey on a crop from fifteen different places where wild strawberries (fragaria vesca) are grown. The collection was held in the northeastern regions of Turkey, at an altitude of 1800 m, where there is a typical warm and humid maritime climate.
The vegetation is mostly pine forest, there are no industrial zones. The fruits have not been subjected to chemical treatment or additional application of fertilizers, the only thing allowed is to irrigate the plots to avoid loss of the crop due to drought. Due to the good wind, the fruits are not affected by gray rot and do not need pesticides.
For comparison, use strawberries (Garden strawberries Fragaria ananassa). The study shows that from 15 samples of wild strawberries per 100 g of fresh fruit, the content of phenolic compounds varies from 138 to 228 mg, the total amount of ellagic acid is in the range of 15, 18 to 26, 36 mg per 100 g.
A lot of ellagic acid is found in raspberry seeds (87.8% of the total polyphenol content in berries), so if we want to get it, we just have to follow a healthy diet with more foods rich in antioxidants.