Cancer Killers: Black Chokeberry

The chokeberries (Aronia) are two species of deciduous shrubs in the family Rosaceae, native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The two species are readily distinguished by their fruit color, from which the common names derive. The leaves are alternate, simple, and oblanceolate with crenate margins and pinnate venation; in autumn the leaves turn a bold red color. Dark trichomes are present on the upper midrib surface. The flowers are small, with 5 petals and 5 sepals, and produced in corymbs of 10-25 together. Hypanthium is urn-shaped. The fruit is a small pome, with a very astringent, bitter flavor; it is eaten by birds (birds do not taste astringency and feed on them readily), which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. The name "chokeberry" comes from the astringency of the fruits which are inedible when raw.

Aronia is closely related to Photinia, and has been included in that genus in some classifications (Robertson et al. 1991).

Red chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, grows to 2-4 m tall, rarely up to 6 m. Leaves are 5-8 cm long and densely pubescent on the underside. The flowers are white or pale pink, 1 cm diameter, with glandular sepals. The fruit is red, 4-10 mm diameter, persisting into winter.

Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)Black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, tends to be smaller, rarely exceeding 1 m tall, rarely 3 m, and spreads readily by root sprouts. The leaves are smaller, not more than 6 cm long, with terminal glands on leaf teeth and a glabrous underside. The flowers are white, 1.5 cm diameter, with glabrous sepals. The fruit is black, 6-9 mm diameter, not persisting into winter.

The two species can hybridise, giving the Purple Chokeberry, Aronia x prunifolia. Leaves are moderately pubescent on the underside. Few to no glands are present on the sepal surface. The fruit is dark purple to black, 7-10 mm in diameter, not persisting into winter.

Flavonoids from black chokeberries, Aronia melanocarpa
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WJH-4CCF8NY-2&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c34bcde5af20b2e23d37a730cd093ac3

CHANGES IN ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF BLACK CHOKEBERRY JUICE
http://www.food.actapol.net/issue6/volume2/5_2_2007.pdf

Bowleserised: Juice of the Week XI: Black Chokeberry
http://bowleserised.blogspot.com/2006/07/juice-of-week-xi-black-chokeberry.html


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