inTerdiSCiPlinarY Team ComPeTiTion

Promoting oral health with fruit compounds

Yael Vodovotz, Food Science and Technology Steven J. Schwartz, Food Science and Technology Christopher Weghorst, School of Public Health Oral diseases such as gum disease, tooth loss, and oral cancer are widespread among Americans. Over 35,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed each year, and nearly 99 percent of all Americans between the ages of 40 and 44 have experienced an oral disease. Additionally, Americans spent an estimated $109 billion on dental clinic visits in 2009. Oral infections have also been linked with diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Recent studies have found that naturally occurring chemical compounds in strawberries, collectively called phytochemicals, may provide benefits that could promote oral health. Thus, oral delivery of fruit compounds using a strawberry confection may be a convenient, complementary, and alternative therapy for preventing oral disease. To test this hypothesis, the research team evaluated compliance and safety of strawberry confections used for oral health treatment by conducting a randomized trial in 34 men and women (17 smokers and 17 non-smokers). Participants consumed eight pieces per day of freeze-dried strawberry confections for one week and then strawberryflavored confections for another week the equivalent of one cup of whole strawberries per day. The team evaluated the absorption and excretion of strawberry compounds in saliva, oral tissues, and urine. In addition, they investigated biological markers of oral health (genetic expression and salivary inflammatory markers). At the time of publication, the study was ongoing. The results will be used to assess the strawberry compounds ability to promote oral health and provide the basis for further berry research focused on disease prevention. Specifically, these critical preliminary findings lay the foundation for future large-scale clinical trials using freezedried black raspberry confections in a population with oral cancer and/or oral disease. Black raspberries have a larger quantity of similar phytochemicals, and The Ohio State University has been working with black raspberries for many years in oral and esophageal cancers. More generally, the data gathered from these clinical trials could provide researchers and the general public with valuable information about options for disease prevention that can be used in everyday meal planning and potentially new, innovative, and functional food products aimed at improving oral health.

Yael Vodovotz

Recent studies have found that naturally occurring chemical compounds in strawberries, collectively called phytochemicals, may provide benefits that could promote oral health.

www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/seeds SEEDS: The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program