Seven men and seven women participated in a randomized crossover trial to study the effect of intake of parsley (Petroselinum crispum), containing high levels of the flavone apigenin, on the urinary excretion of flavones and on biomarkers for oxidative stress. The subjects received a strictly controlled diet low in flavones and other naturally occurring antioxidants during the 2 weeks of intervention. This basic diet was supplemented with parsley providing 3⋅73-4⋅49 mg apigenin/MJ in one of the intervention weeks. Urinary excretion of apigenin was 1⋅59-409⋅09 g/MJ per 24 h during intervention with parsley and 0-112⋅27 g/MJ per 24 h on the basic diet (P Ͻ 0⋅05). The fraction of apigenin intake excreted in the urine was 0⋅58 (SE 0⋅16) % during parsley intervention. Erythrocyte glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.1; GR) and superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1; SOD) activities increased during intervention with parsley (P Ͻ 0⋅005) as compared with the levels on the basic diet, whereas erythrocyte catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) and glutathione peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.9) activities did not change. No significant changes were observed in plasma protein 2-adipic semialdehyde residues, a biomarker of plasma protein oxidation. In this short-term investigation, an overall decreasing trend in the activity of antioxidant enzymes was observed during the 2-week study. The decreased activity of SOD was strongly correlated at the individual level with an increased oxidative damage to plasma proteins. However, the intervention with parsley seemed, partly, to overcome this decrease and resulted in increased levels of GR and SOD. Apigenin: Antioxidant status: Urinary excretionApigenin is a flavone found in vegetables, seasonings (Kühnau, 1976) and oranges (Fernandez de Simon et al. 1992), and it possesses antioxidant activity in vitro (Fraga et al. 1987;van Acker et al. 1996). Potent biological effects of this flavonoid have been described in vitro and in vivo. Apigenin has been ascribed anticarcinogenic (Wei et al. 1989;Birt et al. 1997), anti-inflammatory (Lee et al. 1993 and antimutagenic (Kuo et al. 1992) properties. Thus, development of a biomarker for intake of apigenin is important in order to evaluate the potential health effects of this particular dietary component. There has only been one previously published attempt to determine the urinary excretion of apigenin in human subjects after ingestion of an apigenin-containing camomile (Matricaria recutita) extract (Tschiersch & Hölzl, 1993). However, due to lack of specificity and sensitivity the method failed to detect any apigenin in the urine.Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) contains large amounts of the flavone apigenin (Justesen et al. 1998), and the low concentration of other flavonoids in this plant makes it suitable for an intervention study with a natural source of apigenin.In the present study we report on the relationship between daily intake of parsley and urinary excretion of apigenin. The antioxidative effect of the parsley intervention was investigated by measuring the activity ...

Fruit and vegetables increase erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity and resistance of plasma lipoproteins to oxidation more efficiently than do the vitamins and minerals that fruit and vegetables are known to contain. Plasma protein carbonyl formation at lysine residues increases because of the vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables.