00:00As the largest cherry-producing region in the UK, Kent is no stranger to the healthy
00:06fruit. But perhaps we have only scratched the surface of its true potential.
00:11It's no secret that cherries are good for you, packed with plenty of nutrients and antioxidants.
00:17Previous studies suggest they can even hold off the cognitive decline associated with
00:21dementia. And now, a new study suggests grinding them up into a powder can have an even greater
00:27impact. Researchers at the University of Kent have been looking into anthocyanins, a compound
00:34found in cherries with a range of health benefits. But like with everything else, when it comes
00:39to Alzheimer's, it's a tad more complicated.
00:43What we found was that when you just take these anthocyanins, you don't get the protective
00:50effect in the Alzheimer's disease model. But in the context of the powder, there is
00:57something about that food matrix, the chemical composition that seems to be beneficial.
01:07Not only is this a win in the fight against age-related disease, but also food waste.
01:12Even the cherries that were being chucked away by the farm because the supermarkets didn't
01:16want to take them were actually really, really rich in these anthocyanins. So it's a complete
01:22waste of this great biological resource. And the juice that is made from these waste cherries
01:27is rich in them, and the powder that was made from them is really rich in them.
01:30This is welcome news for cherry farmer Michael Dalloway. Working with the researchers, he
01:35developed the powder from his cherry juice leftovers.
01:37We've been making the cherry juice for 10-plus years, but we had the waste left over from making
01:43the cherry juice. So when you squash the cherries, you're left with all the pulp and the skin
01:47and whatever. That doesn't have to be waste. Just because it's a leftover by-product, there's still
01:51great nutritional value in that. You know, there's a lot more interest in upcycling as
01:57well, isn't there? And you know, can we use that for something else rather than it just
02:01being dumped? So yeah, I think the big takeaway is the fact that, you know, we just need to
02:06get our heads around the fact that we can use these by-products, waste products for other
02:13products basically. And can we turn them into something really healthy and nutritional?
02:17In this early stage, cherry powder is still far from becoming a mainstream product. But
02:22growing awareness of its benefits could one day see shoppers buying their cherries crushed
02:27rather than plucked. Alfie Rowe for KMTV.
