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How Passion Fruit Peel Could Ease Asthma Symptoms
If you or a loved one suffers from asthma you'll know just how debilitating the condition can be.
5.2 million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma: 1.1 million children (1 in 10) and 4.1 million adults (1 in 12). 1 in 6 people with severe asthma symptoms report weekly attacks so severe that they cannot speak - this equates to 430,000 people, or the population of Manchester.
The good news is that the latest research findings offer hope for sufferers, as a recent study indicates that a flavonoid-rich extract from purple passion fruit may ease wheezing.
Fewer than 20 per cent of the subjects receiving the passion fruit peel (PFP) extract still had wheeze as a clinical symptom of asthma, compared to about 80 per cent of subjects in the placebo group, according to the findings, which were published in the journal NutritionResearch.
Moreover, coughing fell by 76 per cent in the extract group, compared to 47 per cent in the placebo group.
Assessing the results
42 asthmatics with an average age of 36.1 were randomly assigned to receive either a daily passion fruit peel extract (150 mg per day) or placebo for four weeks.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that the majority of clinical asthma symptoms were "moderately" affected. Specifically, they note "the prevalence of wheeze, cough, as well as shortness of breath was reduced significantly in the group treated with PFP extract whereas the placebo caused no significant improvement."
Coughing was reduced by 76.2 per cent, wheezing by 80.9 per cent, while the number of people experiencing shortness of breath was reduced from 90 per cent at the start of the study to only 10 per cent at the end, following four weeks of the passion fruit peel extract supplements.
On the other hand, no significant improvements were recorded with respect to lung function, with no changes measured in the forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1) in either group.
None of the study participants reported any adverse effects.
Several potential mechanisms of action were proposed by the researchers. Firstly, they suggested a role for the antioxidants in the peel extract, noting that many studies have reported a link between "oxidative stress, bronchial inflammation, the development of asthmatic symptoms, and reduction of cellular functions".
"Therefore, a role for antioxidants in reducing pathology is likely, particularly during exacerbation of asthma," they stated.
A second potential mechanism could involve the role of the flavonoids in reducing allergy and inflammation.
"[Flavonoids] can inhibit histamine release, arachidonic acid metabolism, and cytokine production," they added.
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