ORAC Ratings..What are they?

Tara Raven 2009
ORAC:
Read Carefully

The ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) unit, ORAC value, or "ORAC score" is a method of measuring the antioxidant capacity of different foods and supplements, developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The exact relationship between the ORAC value of a food and its health benefit has not been fully established, it is believed that foods higher on the ORAC scale will more effectively neutralize free radicals. According to the free-radical theory of aging, antioxidants will slow the oxidation and free radical damage that contribute to age-related degeneration and disease. (Maher 2006 p.1)
The original Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity was developed at the National Institutes on Aging in Baltimore, Md. (n.d. according to the NIH). Later in 2001, scientists at Brunswick Laboratories, Inc., developed the technology further so as to not interact with antioxidants, while demonstrating excellent photo-stability. (Maher, 2006 p.1)
ORAC measures the free radical scavenging capability against the peroxyl radical, which is the most common reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the human body. According to Maher “No single measure of antioxidant status is going to provide a sufficient amount of data to evaluate in one assay the free radical scavenging activity of a food or nutraceutical.” ORAC is the most popular and meaningful measure of antioxidant capacity to date, ORAC assays alone do not fully measure the scavenging capacity against the larger body of free radicals.
    Recently, Brunswick Labs, Inc. have developed tests to gauge free radical scavenging capacities against other free radicals. Columbia Phyto-Technology jumped on the bandwagon with tests for singlet oxygen. Already some companies are using such technologies to report a "comprehensive antioxidant profile". (Bank, 2002 p. 42)
Jean Meyer of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA, says:
    "...the effort to understand the health benefits of plant foods...
           is the characterization of their physiologically active 
          Constituents, the phytochemicals...As our knowledge
          grows...we will learn how best to create new products through
          altering their concentrations, combinations and/or their
           bioavailability."
    The NIH stated that, ‘people who ate a high ORAC diet derived from fruits and vegetables of all the colors of the rainbow, suffered significantly less of all the common diseases of aging’. (Bank, 2006) Today there many nutraceuticals made from one or two “super antioxidants” such as goji berries, coffee beans, fruits, green and white tea that have very high ORAC scores but that does not mean that they are necessarily better, stronger, or more health promoting than a wide variety of other lower ORAC plant foods. (Maher, 2006)
    Of course, one would assume, that simply because a new and flashy label or web site claims the product has “9000 ORAC units per serving” or “the number one ORAC product” does not mean that it really does! Leading companies that have recently flooded the market with “ORAC rated” ingredients should be able to provide both online and, on request, a copy of the original antioxidant test results for each an every batch, with the report noting from an "unopened sealed container". (Bank, 2002)
    Antioxidant products are way overpriced and mostly sold by multi-level marketing firms. (Maher, 2006) Colored fruits and vegetables and their juices, for a few bucks, is ORAC insurance. For instance, Red Flame Raisins, Concord Grape juice, Zante Currants, wild blue berries, Red Delicious apples, turmeric, Dove chocolate, little red Mexican beans, Kidney Beans, cranberries, and cinnamon have greater bioavailability and a wide spectrum antioxidants and are usually more potent than the exotic and imported berry drinks hustled by unscrupulous marketers. (Maher, 2006) 
    ORAC ratings can vary wildly, depending on the harvest time and maturity of the fruit/food. (Maher 2006) Standardization is nearly impossible because of this. Many of these values have not been published succinctly in ‘verifiable scientific literature’ so are difficult to evaluate. The variables are ‘uncontrolled’ and questionable such as: Climate, conditions, harvest, hold time, hold conditions. (Prior, 1998)
    The potential ORAC effectiveness varies with each product and its manufacturing process. It seems, at this time, it is best to stick with fresh foods and peer reviewed information on supplementation.
   


   
   






Resources:

Maher, J. (2006) The ORAC Wars. Retrieved July 6, 2009 from The online
 journal for the American Institute of Integrative Medicine.
https://www.aaimedicine.com/jaaim/apr06/orac.php


Bank, G., Lenoble, R. (2002) Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity
, Standardizing the Way We Look at Antioxidants. Nutraceuticals
   World September; pp.42-45.


Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity of Selected Foods (2007) Retrieved
July 6, 2009 from: Nutrient Data Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. https://ORAC.usda.gov/

Prior, R., Gouhua, C. (1998). Variability in Diet Antioxidant Related
    Natural Product Supplements: The need for Methods of
 Standardization, Journal of American Nutraceutical Association
(JANA Vol.2 No.2) 46-56