Antioxidant Availability of Commonly Consumed Vegetables in the U.S. Food Supply

Abstract

The genesis and progression of a number of chronic diseases are believed to involve oxidative-based cellular insult and injury (1). As a measure of antioxidant capacity, the Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) assay quantifies the degree of inhibition of peroxy-radical-induced oxidation (2). We determined the per capita antioxidant availability from commonly consumed vegetables in the U.S. food supply by: 1) using the USDA Economic Research Service loss-adjusted food availability database (2009) to identify non-starchy vegetables comprising the greatest quantitative contribution to total vegetable intake (3) and 2) the USDA database for ORAC (release 2, 2010)(4). The predominant source of the vegetable (raw, canned, or frozen) was used exclusively unless a second source contributed 20% or more of the total availability of that vegetable. ORAC values of tomato paste and canned diced tomatoes were determined independently, as they make a significant contribution to total vegetable intake, but are not currently in the USDA database. Canned tomato products (sauce, paste, and tomatoes) accounted for 39% of the total per capita ORAC availability, onions 14%, green bell pepper 9%, iceberg lettuce 8%, raw tomatoes 7%, broccoli (raw and frozen) 7%, carrots 5%, celery 4%, cabbage 4%, and green beans (raw, canned, and frozen) 3%. Tomato paste had the greatest and canned green beans the lowest ORAC concentration (1580 and 290 μmol trolox equivalents/100 grams, respectively). These data show canned tomato products are the single most important contributor to dietary antioxidant intake amongst commonly consumed vegetables due to their high per capita availability and ORAC concentration.