Buckwheat Honey Increases Serum Antioxidant Capacity in Humans

Buckwheat Honey Increases Serum Antioxidant Capacity in Humans

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
2003, Vol. 51 pp. 1500-1505
This study examined the acute effects of consuming buckwheat honey (dissolved in water) compared to black tea, black tea with sugar, or black tea with buckwheat honey on serum oxidative status and lipoprotein oxidation. Twenty-five healthy men consumed each of the five beverages in a blind, randomized fashion. Antioxidant capacity of human serum samples was measured using a variety of methods including the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, ex vivo susceptibility of serum lipoprotein to Cu(2+)-induced oxidation, and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. The results showed that black tea with honey had the highest phenolic content and thus antioxidant potential, followed by tea alone, tea with sugar and honey alone. However, buckwheat honey produced the greatest increase in serum antioxidant capacity (demonstrating the inconsistency between the antioxidant potential of a food and its actual effect on serum antioxidant capacity). Ex vivo serum lipoprotein oxidation and TBARS values were not significantly altered after consumption of any of the five beverages.