The Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Wild Bilberry Fruit Extracts Embedded in Mesoporous Silica-Type Supports: A Stability Study
Ana-Maria Brezoiu,
Mihaela Deaconu,
Raul-Augustin Mitran,
Nada K. Sedky,
Frédéric Schiets,
Pedro Marote,
Iulia-Stefania Voicu,
Cristian Matei,
Laila Ziko,
Daniela Berger
Affiliations
Ana-Maria Brezoiu
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Mihaela Deaconu
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Raul-Augustin Mitran
“Ilie Murgulescu” Institute of Physical Chemistry, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Nada K. Sedky
Department of Biochemistry, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hosted by Global Academic Foundation, R5 New Garden City, New Administrative Capital, Cairo 11835, Egypt
Frédéric Schiets
UMR 5280 CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 ISA, 5 Rue de la Doua, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
Pedro Marote
UMR 5280 CNRS, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 ISA, 5 Rue de la Doua, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
Iulia-Stefania Voicu
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Cristian Matei
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Laila Ziko
Department of Biochemistry, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hosted by Global Academic Foundation, R5 New Garden City, New Administrative Capital, Cairo 11835, Egypt
Daniela Berger
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1-7 Gheorghe Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Polyphenolic extracts from wild bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) have shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but they are prone to degradation when exposed to environmental factors, limiting their use in biomedical applications. To overcome this issue, this study proposed the embedding of wild bilberry fruit ethanolic extracts in pristine mesoporous silica functionalized with organic groups (mercaptopropyl and propionic acid), as well as coated with fucoidan, a biopolymer. Herein, we report a stability study of free and incorporated extracts in mesoporous silica-type supports in high-humidity atmospheres at 40 °C up to 28 days, using HPLC analysis, thermal analysis, and radical scavenging activity determination. Better chemical and thermal stability over time was observed when the extracts were incorporated in mesoporous silica-type supports. After 12 months of storage, higher values of antioxidant activity were determined for the extract embedded in the supports, silica modified with mercaptopropyl groups (MCM-SH), and fucoidan-coated silica (MCM-SH-Fuc) than that of the free extract due to a synergistic activity between the support and extract. All encapsulated extracts demonstrated remarkable effects in reducing NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The treatment with extract embedded in MCM-SH-Fuc in a dose of 10 μg/mL surpassed the effect of free extract in the same concentration. For the extract encapsulated in an MCM-SH support, a lower IC50 value (0.69 μg/mL) towards COX-2 was obtained, comparable with that of Indomethacin (0.6 μg/mL). Also, this sample showed a higher selectivity index (2.71) for COX-2 than the reference anti-inflammatory drug (0.98). The developed formulations with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties could be further used in nutraceuticals.
