Tangerine Peels May Prevent Obesity, Cancer Bone Loss.

Eating of tangerine peels reduce the risk
of developing obesity, heart disease,
brittle bone disease and cancer.
THEY are usually thrown away, most times
left at the mercy of domestic animals. But
recent studies suggest they could be
effectively used to prevent obesity, heart
attacks, strokes, bone loss, and cancer. They
are called Tangerine peels.
Researchers have demonstrated how
tangerine peels reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol
(Low Density Lipo-protein) concentration,
and improve bone density and ‘good’
cholesterol (High Density Lipo-protein) in
post-menopausal women by acting as a
phytoestrogen.
Phytoestrogens are a group of chemicals
found in plants that can act like the
hormone estrogen. Estrogen is a hormone
necessary for childbearing and is involved
with bone and heart health in women.
Researchers said tangerine peels extract
could be used as a substitute for estrogen/
hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
because of its ability of to modulate the
blood cholesterol profile and increase the
bone density of ovariectomised rats.
Ovariectomised rat model has been
validated to represent the most important
clinical features of estrogen deficiency-
induced (or postmenopausal) bone loss in
the adult human, particularly during the
early stages of osteoporosis (brittle bone
disease).
New research from the University of
Western Ontario, United States of America
(U.S.A.) has demonstrated how a flavonoid
in tangerines called Nobiletin prevents the
buildup of fat in the liver by stimulating the
expression of genes involved in burning
excess fat, and inhibiting the genes
responsible for manufacturing fat.
According to the research published in the
journal Diabetes, mice were fed a “western”
diet high in fats and simple sugars. One
group became obese and showed all the
signs associated with metabolic syndrome:
elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, high
blood levels of insulin and glucose, and a
fatty liver. These metabolic abnormalities
greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular
disease and type 2 diabetes.
The second group of mice, fed the exact
same diet but with Nobiletin added,
experienced no elevation in their levels of
cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or glucose,
and gained weight normally. Mice became
much more sensitive to the effects of
insulin. Nobiletin was shown to prevent the
buildup of fat in the liver by stimulating the
expression of genes involved in burning
excess fat, and inhibiting the genes
responsible for manufacturing fat.
Director of the Vascular Biology Research
Group at Robarts Research Institute and a
vascular biology scientist at the Schulich
School of Medicine & Dentistry, Murray Huff,
said: “The Nobiletin-treated mice were
basically protected from obesity. And in
longer-term studies, Nobiletin also protected
these animals from atherosclerosis, the
buildup of plaque in arteries, which can lead
to a heart attack or stroke. This study really
paves the way for future studies to see if
this is a suitable treatment for metabolic
syndrome and related conditions in people.”
Huff’s research has focused on the
pharmacological properties of naturally-
occurring bioactive molecules. Two years
ago, his research drew international
attention when he discovered a flavonoid
in grapefruit called Naringenin offered
similar protection against obesity and other
signs of metabolic syndrome. Huff said:
“ What’s really interesting to us is that
Nobiletin is ten times more potent in its
protective effects compared to Naringenin,
and this time, we ’ve also shown that
Nobiletin has the ability to protect against
atherosclerosis. ”
Also, another study published recently in
Indonesia Journal of Biotechnology has
shown tangerines extract potency to
modulate blood cholesterol profile, like
increase the ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL)
concentration and decrease the bad
cholesterol (LDL), triglyceride, and total
cholesterol.
According to the study titled “Citrus
reticulata’s Peels Modulate Blood Cholesterol
Profile and Increase Bone Density of
Ovariectomised Rats, ” the extract also
increased the bone density of
ovariectomised rats.
The study reads: “The two of these
estrogenic effect complete the Citrus
reticulata ’s peels extract’s estrogenic effect.
In previous experiment, the extract could
improve the breast ’s epithelial cell
proliferation and also increase the uterus
volume … This experiment also strengthens
the proven that extract could be a
phytoestrogen …. The ability of the extract
to modulate the blood cholesterol profile
and increase the bone density of
ovariectomised rats in this experiment
indicated the Citrus recticulata ’s peels
extract could be used as a substitute for
estrogen/hormone replacement therapy
(HRT).
“…Bok et al. (1999) proved that naringin
and hesperidin, the citrus’s peels flavonoid,
could decrease the total cholesterol
concentration and blood triglyceride with
blocked activity of a reductase of rats
leading to inhibition of the cholesterol
synthesis in the body.
“Overall, the Citrus reticulata’s peels extract
had a potency to be developed as the
menopause women healthcare agent.
Beside that, the extract need to be utilized
for health because Citrus reticulata was a
local fruit and easy to be cultivated. From
this experiment, we need more experiments
to know the optimum dose of the extract as
a phytoestrogen. The using and application
of the extract suggest it is very good for
estrogen deficiency, for the example the
menopausal women.
“As the conclusion of this research, the
Citrus reticulata’s peels extract increase the
bone density and improve the blood
cholesterol profile of female ovariectomised
rats. ”
Phytochemical analysis has shown that
tangerine peels contain fat, protein, ash,
magnesium, carotenoids, dietary fiber, and
polyphenols.
A study published in Nutrition and Cancer
has shown how tangerines reduce the
proliferation of many cancer cells. The
antiproliferative effects of Citrus reticulata
(CR) extract, the immature tangerine peel, on
human gastric cancer cell line SNU-668 were
evaluated.
The researchers wrote: “From the results of
the morphological and biochemical assays,
CR (50 microg/ml) increased the apoptosis
of human gastric cancer cells with typical
apoptotic characteristics, including
morphological changes of chromatin
condensation and apoptotic body
formation… These results suggest that CR
may induce the apoptosis through the
caspase-3 pathway in human gastric cancer
cells. ”