Cholesterol fighters

A compound found in the peels of oranges and tangerines--polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs)--may lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, by 20-40 percent, according to a Canadian study published in the May 12, 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Although the idea is not new, the research is the first to provide substantial peer-reviewed evidence. The study decreased LDL in hamsters by 32-40 percent; and earlier human studies lowered LDL by 21 percent.

If longer-term human trials now under way confirm these results, supplemental PMF is expected to compete head-on with the prescription drugs known as statins. And taking PMF extract supplements would be more practical than ingesting fruit or juice--to get a therapeutic effect, you'd have to drink about 20 glasses of orange juice per day.

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