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04 Sep 2008
A substance which is naturally found in fruit and vegetables reduces the likelihood of an occurrence of influenza, a study has suggested.
Scientists from Clemson University and the University of South Carolina in the USA gave mice quercetin - a substance known for its antioxidant activity and found in a range of fruit and vegetables, including red onions, tea, grapes, blueberries and broccoli.
Published in the current issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, the study tested four groups of mice.
Two groups carried out exercise on a treadmill, while the others did not. Quercetin was given to one of the exercising groups and one of the non-exercising groups.
All were then exposed to a common flu virus.
Stressful exercise increased flu susceptibility, but quercetin cancelled out the negative effect of the exertion and also had a protective effect on those mice which did not exercise.
The researchers state that although the study was conducted using mice, it could be beneficial to a range of people, including soldiers, endurance athletes and people under psychological stress.
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