Patent ID: 7682637

Claim:
A method of producing a composition enriched in total phenols prepared without the addition of bisulfite ions comprising the steps of: non-selectively extracting phenols from plant material comprising fruits and berries selected from the group consisting of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, red currants, black currants and cherries, without the addition of bisulfite ions, to produce a phenol-containing extract containing monomeric, oligomeric and polymeric phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and flavonoids present in the selected fruits or berries, and purifying said phenol-containing extract by removing non-phenolic compounds including sugars, cellulose, pectin, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, plant sterols, fatty acids, and triglycerides present in the selected fruits and berries, to obtain a composition having an enriched total phenol concentration of said anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and flavonoids present in the selected fruits or berries greater than 12% and in vitro COX-2 inhibitory activity enhanced by a factor of at least 2.5 over a standard aspirin dose of 660 μg/mL.