You are starting to find satsuma mandarins on the greengrocer’s shelves, with their green-yellow skin and juicy, seedless pulp. But satsuma mandarins are not just a tasty fruit to include in your diet, they are also a true concentrate of beneficial properties, as various scientific studies have demonstrated. Let’s delve deeper into what science says about this variety of citrus fruit, discussing the results of three recent studies.
Satsuma mandarins protect the liver and combat diabetesThe first research we are talking about today was published in the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical bulletin by a Japanese team (Sugiura et al, Biol Pharm Bull, 2006). The study took place in the laboratory on a population of mice and showed that the intake of satsuma mandarins is able to protect the liver in case of hyperglycemia. The increase in sugars, in fact, in the long term can induce liver damage through an excess of free radicals, while the beneficial substances contained in this variety of mandarins counteract free radicals. The same study reports also data from extensive previous research, carried out by the same group of scientists, which had shown that consuming satsuma mandarins reduces the risk of developing diabetes. Not only that, satsuma mandarins, thanks to their high content of antioxidants, such as beta cryptoxanthin, phenols and vitamins, are able to protect the walls of the aorta, even in the presence of alterations in blood sugar levels.Satsuma mandarins against stressThe second research was published in the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical bulletin by another Japanese team (Unno et al, Biol Pharm Bull, 2019). The research focused on the anti-stress properties of satsuma mandarins. In particular, the study involved 23 women. The study participants were divided into two groups. The first group was asked to take 125 ml of satsuma mandarin juice in the morning after breakfast for 3 months. The second group instead had to take a placebo. In the three months of the experiment, all the volunteers were engaged in an internship in hospitals or pharmacies, so they were subjected to a considerable workload and stress. Stress values were measured by analyzing the amount of salivary alpha amylase, an enzyme that acts as an indicator of stress levels. Well, those who had taken the placebo had significantly higher alpha amylase values in the evening than in the morning, a sign of the stress perceived during the day. However, this was not observed in those who had taken satsuma mandarin juice, which thus proved to be an ally in counteracting stress and its harmful effects on the body. The anti-stress action is attributable to an antioxidant contained in high quantities in the satsuma mandarin, beta cryptoxanthin.
Satsuma mandarin against obesityThe third research, published in the journal Food Science and Biotechnology by a group of Korean scientists (Kim et al, Food Sci Biotechnol., 2019), has shown that the intake of satsuma mandarin extracts counteracts obesity. In fact, satsuma mandarin helps reduce fat mass by increasing the body’s use of fat for heat production.ConclusionsSatsuma mandarins are a very early variety and we can find them in the supermarket as early as September. They are practical to take with you everywhere and are a healthy snack, as we have seen based on scientific research. Satsuma mandarins provide antioxidants, protect the liver, combat diabetes and obesity and finally strengthen the body making it more resistant to stress. In short, satsuma mandarins are a little wonder not to be missed!
