The health positive effects of diets high in fruits and
vegetables are generally not replicated in supplementation
trials with isolated antioxidants and vitamins, and as a
consequence the emphasis of chronic disease prevention has
shifted to whole foods and whole food products. We carried out a
human intervention trial with the golden kiwifruit, Actinidia
chinensis, measuring markers of antioxidant status, DNA
stability, plasma lipids, and platelet aggregation. Our
hypothesis was that supplementation of a normal diet with
kiwifruits would have an effect on biomarkers of oxidative
status. Healthy volunteers supplemented a normal diet with
either one or two golden kiwifruits per day in a cross-over
study lasting 2 × 4 weeks. Plasma levels of vitamin C, and
carotenoids, and the ferric reducing activity of plasma (FRAP)
were measured. Malondialdehyde was assessed as a biomarker of
lipid oxidation. Effects on DNA damage in circulating
lymphocytes were estimated using the comet assay with enzyme
modification to mea