The Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences is playing a key role in a Franco-German study that aims to research over a period of two years how herbal remedies work against high blood pressure. Specifically, it is about whether the regular consumption of orange juice can help maintain normal blood pressure and strengthen the cardiovascular system, as the university reports. Research partners are the University Clinic in Clermont-Ferrand and the French Institute for Agronomic Research there.

In the course of the Franco-German study, healthy but risk-prone adults were given either a small glass of orange juice or one of two placebo drinks developed in Geisenheim for the first time for six weeks. Pure hesperidin from oranges is added to one of the two placebo soft drinks in addition to a sugar content that is the same as that of orange juice. This is to find out whether the observed health effects are causally attributable to this substance. The short and medium-term effects on the cardiovascular system and changes in the composition of colon bacteria are researched.

The Geisenheim Institute Director for Analysis and Technology of Plant Foods, Ralf Schweiggert, will accompany the study together with the Geisenheim polyphenol expert Christof Steingaß. According to the information, Schweiggert hopes that, once the study has been completed, he will be able to explain even better why a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables is beyond doubt healthy. Precisely because orange juice is often criticized for its high sugar content, there is an urgent need to find out more about the health effects of this complex mixture of vitamins, minerals and polyphenols.