Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 18;22(2):312.
doi: 10.3390/molecules22020312.

Phenolic Acid Profiling, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities, and miRNA Regulation in the Polyphenols of 16 Blueberry Samples from China

Xianming Su  1 , Jian Zhang  2 , Hongqing Wang  3 , Jing Xu  4 , Jiuming He  5 , Liying Liu  6 , Ting Zhang  7 , Ruoyun Chen  8 , Jie Kang  9
Affiliations

Phenolic Acid Profiling, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities, and miRNA Regulation in the Polyphenols of 16 Blueberry Samples from China

Xianming Su et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

To investigate the anti-atherosclerosis related mechanism of blueberries, the phenolic acids (PAs) content, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, as well as the microRNA (miRNA) regulation of polyphenol fractions in blueberry samples from China were studied. Sixteen batches of blueberries including 14 commercialized cultivars (Reka, Patriot, Brigitta, Bluecrop, Berkeley, Duke, Darrow, Northland, Northblue, Northcountry, Bluesource, Southgood, O'Neal, and Misty) were used in this study. Seven PAs in the polyphenol fractions from 16 blueberry samples in China were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS²). The antioxidant activities of blueberry polyphenols were tested by (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl [DPPH]) assay. The anti-inflammatory (tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) activities of the polyphenol fractions of the blueberries were investigated by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. The correlation analysis showed that the antioxidant (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl [DPPH]) and anti-inflammatory (tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) activities of the polyphenol fractions of the blueberries were in accordance with their PA contents. Although the polyphenol-enriched fractions of blueberries could inhibit the microRNAs (miRNAs) (miR-21, miR-146a, and miR-125b) to different extents, no significant contribution from the PAs was observed. The inhibition of these miRNAs could mostly be attributed to the other compounds present in the polyphenol-enriched fraction of the blueberries. This is the first study to evaluate the PAs content, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and miRNA regulation of Chinese blueberries.

Keywords: Chinese blueberry; anti-inflammatory activity; antioxidant activity; half-highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum/Vaccinium anugustifolium); highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum); miRNA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chromatograms and structures of phenolic acids (PAs) quantified in blueberry polyphenol fractions with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS2). Please provide a clearer picture of all the Figures.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total PA contents of the 16 blueberry polyphenol fractions. (The results have been expressed in terms of mg/100 g fresh blueberry equivalent, means ± SD, n = 3; columns with the different letters are significantly different, p < 0.05, n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition in the 16 blueberry polyphenol fractions. (The results have been expressed in terms of µmol Trolox/100 g fresh blueberry equivalent, means ± SD, n = 3; columns with the different letters are significantly different, p < 0.05, n = 3).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pearson’s correlation between PAs content and antioxidant capacity (DPPH) of the 16 blueberry polyphenol fractions (Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) = 0.926, significance at p = 0).
Figure 5
Figure 5
IC50 values of the 16 blueberry polyphenol fractions for TNF-α (a) and IL-6 (b) inhibition. (The results have been expressed in terms of IC50 (mg/100 g fresh blueberry equivalent, means ± SD, n = 3; columns with the different letters are significantly different, p < 0.05, n = 3).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Pearson’s correlation between PAs contents and IC50 values of the 16 blueberry polyphenol fractions against inflammation, TNF-α (a) and IL-6 (b) (Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) were −0.953 (a) and −0.916 (b), respectively, significance for both at p = 0).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tabart J., Kevers C., Pincemail J., Defraigne J.O., Dommes J. Antioxidant capacity of black currant varies with organ, season, and cultivar. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2006;54:6271–6276. doi: 10.1021/jf061112y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mattila P., Hellström J., Torronen R. Phenolic acids in berries, fruits, and beverages. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2006;54:7193–7199. doi: 10.1021/jf0615247. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Taruscio T.G., Barney D.L., Exon J. Content and profile of flavanoid and phenolic acid compounds in conjunction with the antioxidant capacity for a variety of Northwest Vaccinium berries. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2004;52:3169–3176. doi: 10.1021/jf0307595. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Holiman P.C.H., Hertog M.G.L., Katan M.B. Analysis and health effects of flavonoids. Food Chem. 1996;57:43–46. doi: 10.1016/0308-8146(96)00065-9. - DOI
    1. Forbes-Hernandez T.U., Giampieri F., Gasparrini M., Mazzoni L., Quiles J.L., Alvarez-Suarez J.M., Battino M. The effects of bioactive compounds from plant foods on mitochondrial function: A focus on apoptic mechanisms. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2014;68:154–182. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2014.03.017. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources