Washington: Research has suggested that compounds that give
colourful fruits their rich hues, especially berries, promote
health and might even prevent cancer. But for the first time,
scientists have exposed extracts from numerous berries high in
those pigments to human saliva to see just what kinds of health-
promoting substances are likely to survive and be produced in
the mouth. It`s too early to name the best berry for health
promotion based on this initial work. But the researchers have
discovered that two families of pigments that provide berries
with their colours, called anthocyanins, are more susceptible to
degradation in the mouth than are the other four classes of
these pigments. The Ohio State University study also showed that
bacteria living in the mouth are responsible for most of the
breakdown of these compounds that occurs in saliva. Researchers
are investigating whether it`s the berry pigments themselves, or
instead the products of their degradation, that actually promote
health. Scientists sa