Abstract:
On the advice of Native Americans, early North Carolina settlers planted muscadine grapes. People eat the meat of the grape but not the seeds and thick skin. Jerry Smith, CEO and owner of bottled-water LeBleu Corporation in Advance, North Carolina, felt the seeds contained medicinal properties. Smith hired a scientist at the University of Georgia to study the muscadine seeds. The scientist discovered that the seeds contain an inordinate amount of antioxidants, the compounds that protect the body from free radicals that are blamed for all sorts of health problems. Smith processes the seeds into capsules that his company sells.