Location: Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory
Project Number: 8040-52000-068-045-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2018
End Date: Sep 30, 2020
Objective:
The mission of the Methods and Applications of Food Composition Laboratory (MAFCL), provides leadership and promotes international cooperation in the development of authoritative nutrient databases, and research and state of the art methods to acquire, evaluate, compile and disseminate composition data on foods and dietary supplements available in the United States. The objective of this project is to address a major question in food composition, namely the concentration of proanthocyanidins in cranberry supplements and the fraction of A-type linkages (double bonds) of the oligomers. These compounds have been associated with resistance to urinary tract infections.
Approach:
Cranberry supplements will be purchased from popular dietary supplement websites with search results sorted by bestselling, top selling, or most popular. Products that were used in clinical trials and had branded ingredients will be prioritized for purchase. The goal will be to find two lots of at least 25 products. Total proanthocyanidins will be determined by colorimetric and mass spectrometric methods. The fraction of A-type linkages will be determined using mass spectrometry.
