I posted on luteolin yesterday, with some reference to apigenin, both of which are found in parsley. There are many interesting phytochemicals in the common herbs, but how much can we realistically ingest? Can diatary herbs make a difference?
My memories of parsley go back to the 1950s in England, when fishmongers threw in a sprig of parsley with every purchase, for the obligatory parsley sauce. The very name will make any English reader of my age shudder.
It's a simple béchamel sauce with a little chopped parsley. Seems to have been a 20th century invention (Victorians used fish stock rather than milk in parsley sauce). Anyway, it thankfully died out (I think).
Salsa verde (Spain, Portugal, Italy) has a lot more parsley and is a lot more palatable, & one might use an entire bunch - about 55 grams.
A 2006 German study [1] gave subjects 2 grams parsley per kilogram body weight. That is about 3 bunches for most of us.
2 grams provides " 65.8 ... micromol apigenin"
"Blood samples were taken at 0, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 28 h after parsley consumption and 24-hour urine samples were collected. Apigenin was analyzed in plasma, urine and red blood cells ..."
"On average, a maximum apigenin plasma concentration of 127 ... nmol/l was reached after 7.2 ..." hours.
65.8 micromole (µmol) = 65,800 nmol.
With 5 liters of blood, we get 635 nmols, so less than 1% is taken up.
"The average apigenin content in 24-hour urine was 144 +/- 110 nmol/24 h corresponding to 0.22 ...% of the ingested dose."
"A small portion of apigenin provided by food reaches the human circulation and, therefore, may reveal biological effects."
But it seems like a disappointingly small amount.
A 1999 Danish study reported that "The fraction of apigenin intake excreted in the urine was 0.58 ...% during parsley intervention."
In a 1987 Japanese study, on "The urinary mutagenicity of 3 nonsmoking, healthy men":
"When the subjects ate 150 g of fried salmon at one meal, a potent mutagenicity of almost 5000 revertants of TA98 strain was present in all 6-h urine samples. On the other hand, less than 2500 revertants was present in the urine when the subjects simultaneously consumed 70 g of parsley and 150 g of fried salmon. Thus, the protection against mutagenicity affected by parsley warrants further attention."
Which brings one back to parsley sauce with fish. LOL
-Patrick
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/164...
Ann Nutr Metab. 2006;50(3):167-72. Epub 2006 Jan 10.
Bioavailability of apigenin from apiin-rich parsley in humans.
Meyer H1, Bolarinwa A, Wolfram G, Linseisen J.
Author information
Abstract
AIM:
Absorption and excretion of apigenin after the ingestion of apiin-rich food, i.e. parsley, was tested.
METHODS:
Eleven healthy subjects (5 women, 6 men) in the age range of 23-41 years and with an average body mass index of 23.9 +/- 4.1 kg/m2 took part in this study. After an apigenin- and luteolin-free diet, a single oral bolus of 2 g blanched parsley (corresponding to 65.8 +/- 15.5 micromol apigenin) per kilogram body weight was consumed. Blood samples were taken at 0, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 28 h after parsley consumption and 24-hour urine samples were collected. Apigenin was analyzed in plasma, urine and red blood cells by means of HPLC-ECD.
RESULTS:
On average, a maximum apigenin plasma concentration of 127 +/- 81 nmol/l was reached after 7.2 +/- 1.3 h with a high range of variation between subjects. For all participants, plasma apigenin concentration rose after bolus ingestion and fell within 28 h under the detection limit (2.3 nmol/l). The average apigenin content in 24-hour urine was 144 +/- 110 nmol/24 h corresponding to 0.22 +/- 0.16% of the ingested dose. The flavone could be detected in red blood cells without showing dose-response characteristics.
CONCLUSIONS:
A small portion of apigenin provided by food reaches the human circulation and, therefore, may reveal biological effects.
Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PMID: 16407641 DOI: 10.1159/000090736
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
...
[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/106...
Br J Nutr. 1999 Jun;81(6):447-55.
Effect of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) intake on urinary apigenin excretion, blood antioxidant enzymes and biomarkers for oxidative stress in human subjects.
Nielsen SE1, Young JF, Daneshvar B, Lauridsen ST, Knuthsen P, Sandström B, Dragsted LO.
Author information
1
Institute of Food Safety and Toxicology, Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Abstract
Seven men and seven women participated in a randomized crossover trial to study the effect of intake of parsley (Petroselinum crispum), containing high levels of the flavone apigenin, on the urinary excretion of flavones and on biomarkers for oxidative stress. The subjects received a strictly controlled diet low in flavones and other naturally occurring antioxidants during the 2 weeks of intervention. This basic diet was supplemented with parsley providing 3.73-4.49 mg apigenin/MJ in one of the intervention weeks. Urinary excretion of apigenin was 1.59-409.09 micrograms/MJ per 24 h during intervention with parsley and 0-112.27 micrograms/MJ per 24 h on the basic diet (P < 0.05). The fraction of apigenin intake excreted in the urine was 0.58 (SE 0.16)% during parsley intervention. Erythrocyte glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.1; GR) and superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1; SOD) activities increased during intervention with parsley (P < 0.005) as compared with the levels on the basic diet, whereas erythrocyte catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) and glutathione peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.9) activities did not change. No significant changes were observed in plasma protein 2-adipic semialdehyde residues, a biomarker of plasma protein oxidation. In this short-term investigation, an overall decreasing trend in the activity of antioxidant enzymes was observed during the 2-week study. The decreased activity of SOD was strongly correlated at the individual level with an increased oxidative damage to plasma proteins. However, the intervention with parsley seemed, partly, to overcome this decrease and resulted in increased levels of GR and SOD.
Comment in
Parsley, polyphenols and nutritional antioxidants. [Br J Nutr. 1999]
PMID: 10615220
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
...
[3] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/330...
Mutat Res. 1987 Sep;192(1):7-10.
Ingestion of parsley inhibits the mutagenicity of male human urine following consumption of fried salmon.
Ohyama S1, Kitamori S, Kawano H, Yamada T, Inamasu T, Ishizawa M, Ishinishi N.
Author information
1
Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Abstract
The urinary mutagenicity of 3 nonsmoking, healthy men was investigated after strictly defined meals by means of the Ames Salmonella/microsome test. When the subjects ate 150 g of fried salmon at one meal, a potent mutagenicity of almost 5000 revertants of TA98 strain was present in all 6-h urine samples. On the other hand, less than 2500 revertants was present in the urine when the subjects simultaneously consumed 70 g of parsley and 150 g of fried salmon. Thus, the protection against mutagenicity affected by parsley warrants further attention.
PMID: 3309644
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
Food supplements I hope will help
Supplementing Vitamin D may contribute to cancer mortality
PSA lab and Vitamin B supplement intereference
I need facts on nutrition, vitamins and supplements.
