Evaluation of the effects of Japanese apricot extracts on blood fluidity by means of MC-FAN

• Published in: Nihon Eiyō, Shokuryō Gakkai shi Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 81 - 87
• Main Authors: Tanaka, K. (Umeken Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)), Koga, K, Kawamura, T, Kawabata, K, Soejima, T, Endoh, T, Bandoh, T, Fukuda, K, Kanai, N, Sakakibara, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science 2004
• Subjects: APRICOTS; BLOOD CIRCULATION; blood fluidity; EXTRACTS; FRUIT PRODUCTS; Japanese apricot extracts; MC-FAN; platelet coagulating ability
• ISSN: 0287-3516; 1883-2849
• DOI: 10.4327/jsnfs.57.81

Summary : Temporal changes in the fluidity of heparin-containing blood can be evaluated using MC-FAN. Although temporal fluctuations in blood fluidity reflect differences in platelet coagulability among individuals, these can be iguored if blood is analyzed within 10 min after collection without application of shear stress. In this study we measured the passage time of 200 microL of whole blood from 12 healthy adult volunteers (9 male, 3 female; age range 22-60 yr) before and after administration of Japanese apricot extract for one month. It was found that (1) for blood showing high coagulability, the extract increased endurance to physical stress, (2) for blood showing low coagulability but high viscosity, the extract made the blood less viscous, (3) for blood showing low coagulability and low viscosity, the extract increased the coagulability, and (4) the viscosity of blood tended to converge toward the average value with time. These findings suggest that long-term administration of Japanese apricot extract aids the homeostatic maintenance of blood fluidity.