LONDON: Famed as a hangover cure in the Middle Ages and a fertility charm in Roman times, the almond is about to get a new lease of life as a heart disease drug.

Scientists have discovered that two key chemicals — one inside the almond and the other in its skin — combine to provide powerful protection against cardiovascular disease. Now they are urging people to eat almonds - raw or dry roasted — every day to protect their arteries.

They also believe their research could be critical in explaining why attempts to isolate individual cardiovascular drugs from fruit, nuts and vegetables have had little success so far. Only complex combinations now appear likely to work.

“Our research took us by surprise,” said Dr Paul Milbury of the Human Nutrition Centre at Tufts University, Boston. “We found the two almond chemicals interacted to boost the way the body stops cholesterol turning into other more harmful chemicals. It was perfect synergy.”

Details of the findings will be revealed in Cambridge, England, this week at a meeting of Eurofeda — European Research on Functional Effects of Dietary Antioxidants — organised to assess recent dramatic progress in understanding the role of naturally occurring chemicals called antioxidants, which combat harmful chemicals in the body.

In our veins and arteries, antioxidants prevent dangerous inflammation and ultimately arteriosclerosis. One such antioxidant is vitamin E, found in the body of the almond. Another type, polyphenolics, are found in the skins. “We mixed each with cholesterol in the laboratory and found both antioxidants stopped it being converted into more harmful by-products,” said Milbury. “But the real surprise came when we mixed the two chemicals and found their combined impact was much greater than the sum of their two separate effects.”

This research has been followed with trials on human volunteers who have been given supplements of the two almond extracts. Again the scientists found powerful cholesterol-inhibiting effects. “We have only just started our research on humans, however, and will be continuing our trials on volunteers for some time,” said Milbury.

Historically, almonds have always had a good press. Aaron’s rod, which blossomed and bore almonds, gave the nut a biblical seal of approval; Romans showered newly-weds with them as fertility charms, and almonds hidden in Christmas pudding are considered a portent of good fortune in Sweden.

“They contain a fair amount of fat, so you don’t want to eat too much,” said Dr Karen Lapsley of the Almond Board of California, which funded Milbury’s research. “An ounce a day is right.”

The discovery that the two almond components combine to produce boosted protection against heart disease suggests a critical new research avenue for scientists, indicating that dynamic relationships between ingredients may be more important than higher intakes of single nutrients. Eurofeda conference organiser Dr Sian Astley, of the UK Institute of Food Research, said: “Our diets are like symphonies. You need a careful balance to get it right.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.