Characterization of Juice PLUS+ Supplements

Capsules used for the study were provided by the Juice Plus Company/NSA LLC, Collierville, TN, USA and manufactured for Europe by Natural Alternatives International (NAI), Manno, Switzerland. The capsules contained powdered juice concentrate derived from 36 different fruits, vegetables, and berries including juice and pulp from different vegetal matrices, namely Juice PLUS+^® Vineyard (a berry blend), Juice PLUS+^® Fruit Blend and Juice PLUS+^® Vegetable Blend, which were kindly supplied by the Juice PLUS+^® company. In detail, the powder samples differed for their composition: Juice PLUS+^® Vineyard (hereafter called “berry blend”) contained 750 mg of dried powder blend of juice and pulp from grapes and berries (45.7%) including Concord grape, blueberry, cranberry, blackberry, bilberry, raspberry, redcurrant, blackcurrant, elderberry, in varying proportions, besides green tea, ginger root, grape seed, artichoke leaf powder, cocoa powder, and pomegranate powder. Juice PLUS+^® Fruit Blend (“fruit blend”) instead contained 750 mg of dried powder blend of juice and pulp (52%) of apple, orange, pineapple, cranberry, peach, acerola cherry, papaya, in varying proportions, beet root, date, and prune. Lastly, Juice PLUS+^® Vegetable Blend (“vegetable blend”) contained 750 mg of dried powder blend of juice and pulp (60%) of carrot, parsley, beet, kale, broccoli, cabbage, tomato, and spinach, in varying proportions, as well as sugar beet, garlic powder, oat, and rice bran. Moreover, the fruit and the vegetable powders were enriched with vitamins C, and folic acid) and with a natural carotenoid and tocopherol blend. The berry blend powder was enriched with vitamins C and folic acid as well as with a natural tocopherol blend.