A dietary antioxidant supplementation of Jamaican cherries (Muntingia calabura L.) attenuates inflammatory related disorders

Abstract

The polyphenolic extract from Jamaican cherries (Muntingia calabura L.) was screened for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The extract contained considerable amounts of vitamin C (33.6 mg AAE/g extract) and E (14.7 mg TE/g extract), total phenolics (121.1 mg GAE/g extract), flavonoids (173.2 mg RE/g extract), and anthocyanins (82.4 mg CGE/g extract) estimated through standard spectrophotometric methods. The extract also revealed the presence of volatile compounds such as phytol (26.26%), n-hexadecanoic acid (11.97%), cyclopropaneoctanoic acid (10.26%), γ-sitosterol (11.15%), stigmasterol (7.20%), and campesterol (4.47%) as main constituents in the extract. The polyphenol extract demonstrated DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 10.6±0.6 μg/mL) and effectively inhibited hydroxyl (IC50 24.9±3.3 μg/mL), and nitric oxide (IC50 15.01±1.2 μg/mL) radicals in vitro. The extract also exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in a dose dependent manner by significantly (p<0.01) inhibiting carrageenan induced paw edema and reducing the weight of granuloma in cotton pellet-induced granuloma model in rats. Results indicated that Jamaican cherries could be a potential source of nutrient supplement with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and require promotion of their consumption for public health benefits.