have led the National Research Council (NRC) to recommend consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Apples are a very significant part of the diet. From a Dutch Food Consumption Survey and previously analyzed flavonoid contents of fruits, vegetables, and beverages, Hertog et al. (7) determined that apples are the third largest contributors of flavonoids in the Dutch diet behind tea and onions. In Finland, along with onions, apples are the top contributors (8). Twenty- two percent of the fruit phenolics consumed in the United States are from apples, making them the largest source (9). Consump- tion of apples has been linked to the prevention of chronic disease. Apple intake has been negatively associated with lung cancer incidence in two separate studies (8, 10). It has also been
related to reduced cardiovascular disease; coronary and total mortality (11), symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (12), and risk of thrombotic stroke (13) have all been inversely associated with apple consumption.
Apples are a good source of phenolic compounds (14). The total extractable phenolic