Characterization of Andean Blueberry in Bioactive Compounds, Evaluation of Biological Properties, and In Vitro Bioaccessibility
Nieves Baenas,
Jenny Ruales,
Diego A. Moreno,
Daniel Alejandro Barrio,
Carla M. Stinco,
Gabriela Martínez-Cifuentes,
Antonio J. Meléndez-Martínez,
Almudena García-Ruiz
Affiliations
Nieves Baenas
Department of Food Technology, Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Regional Campus of International Excellence “Campus Mare-Nostrum”, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Jenny Ruales
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Escuela Politécnica National, Quito 17-01-2759, Ecuador
Diego A. Moreno
Phytochemistry and Healthy Foods Lab., Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus de Espinardo-Edificio 25, E-30100 Murcia, Spain
Daniel Alejandro Barrio
Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, CIT Río Negro, Don Bosco y Leloir s/n, 8500 Río Negro, 8500 Viedma, Argentina
Carla M. Stinco
Food Colour & Quality Lab., Department of Nutrition & Food Science, Universidad de Sevilla, Facultad de Farmacia, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
Gabriela Martínez-Cifuentes
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Escuela Politécnica National, Quito 17-01-2759, Ecuador
Antonio J. Meléndez-Martínez
Food Colour & Quality Lab., Department of Nutrition & Food Science, Universidad de Sevilla, Facultad de Farmacia, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
Almudena García-Ruiz
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Escuela Politécnica National, Quito 17-01-2759, Ecuador
The aim of this study was to evaluate Andean blueberries (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) from Ecuador as a potential functional ingredient for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The analysis of bioactive compounds by HPLC–DAD–MSn determined a high content of (poly)phenols, mainly anthocyanins, and the presence of the carotenoid lutein. Regarding its biological properties, Andean blueberry did not show toxicity by the zebrafish embryogenesis test, showing also a lack of the antinutrients lectins. Moreover, the results of in vitro and in vivo antioxidant capacity evaluation suggested its possibility to be used as natural antioxidant. This fruit also exhibited antimicrobial activity toward Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in low doses. Finally, in vitro gastrointestinal (GI) digestion showed a partial bioaccessibility of (poly) phenols (~50% at the final step), showing high antioxidant capacity in the different GI phases. These results revealed Andean blueberry as an interesting candidate for being used as a functional ingredient and the development of further in vivo and clinical assays.
