British university researchers are hoping to strip the healthy nutrients out of fruits so they can be used in new foods and medicines, it was announced yesterday.
A major project at Warwick University, UK, is aiming to use laboratory studies to find out which fruit and vegetables have the most benefit on the health of the circulation.
Scientists plan to develop "prototype products" which could then be tested on overweight volunteers.
These trials are set to take place at nearby hospitals in Coventry.
The university has attracted more than £1 million in funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and chemicals company Unilever.
The researchers say it might one day lead to a new range of healthy products containing ingredients aimed at boosting heart health.
Their aim is to identify nutrients which seem to protect the tissue walls of blood vessels.
Researcher Professor Paul Thornally, of Warwick Medical School, said: "We believe we can harness the health-giving properties of fruits such as grapes, strawberries and olives to raise the body’s natural defences against developing heart disease and diabetes and therefore help tackle the growing problems of declining health in our ageing and increasingly overweight population."
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