Beneficial Anti-Platelet and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Irish Apple Juice and Cider Bioactives.

Ioannis Zabetakis,Con Traas,Donal Moran,Maria Durkin,Alexandros Tsoupras,Hayley Pleskach

doi:10.3390/foods10020412

Abstract

Several bioactives from fruit juices and beverages like phenolics, nucleotides and polar lipids (PL) have exhibited anti-platelet cardio-protective properties. However, apple juice and cider lipid bioactives have not been evaluated so far. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-platelet and anti-inflammatory effects and structure activity relationships of Irish apple juice and Real Irish cider lipid bioactives against the platelet-activating factor (PAF)- and adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-related thrombotic and inflammatory manifestations in human platelets. Total Lipids (TL) were extracted from low, moderate and high in tannins apple juices and from their derived-through-fermentation cider products, as well as from commercial apple juice and cider. These were separated into neutral lipids (NL) and PL, while all lipid extracts were further assessed for their ability to inhibit aggregation of human platelets induced by PAF and ADP. In all cases, PL exhibited the strongest anti-platelet bioactivities and were further separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis into PL subclasses/fractions that were also assessed for their antiplatelet potency. The PL from low in tannins apple juice exhibited the strongest antiplatelet effects against PAF and ADP, while PL from its fermented cider product were less active. Moreover, the phosphatidylcholines (PC) in apple juices and the phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) in apple ciders were the most bioactive HPLC-derived PL subclasses against PAF-induced platelet aggregation. Structural elucidation of the fatty acid composition by gas chromatography mass spectra (GCMS) analysis showed that PL from all samples are rich in beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and omega 3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), providing a possible explanation for their strong anti-platelet properties, while the favorable low levels of their omega-6/omega-3 (n-6/n-3) PUFA ratio, especially for the bioactive PC and PE subclasses, further support an anti-inflammatory cardio-protective potency for these apple products. In conclusion, Irish apple juice and Real Irish cider were found to possess bioactive PL compounds with strong antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory properties, while fermentation seems to be an important modulating factor on their lipid content, structures and bioactivities. However, further studies are needed to evaluate these effects.

Highlights

Specific foods and beverages included in a healthy diet contain natural bioactive compounds with health benefits and especially for preventing several inflammation-related chronic pathologies [1,2]
The yield of extract for the apple juice samples was seen to be higher than the cider extracts, excluding the commercial cider sample where it had a similar yield of Total Lipids (TL) and polar lipids (PL) to that of apple juice B, the lowest yield observed in the apple juice samples
The most potent anti-platelet-activating factor (PAF) and anti-adenosine diphosphate (ADP) activities that were observed in the PL from apple juice AA were of similar potency, since these extracts showed similar IC50 values against both these pathways of platelet aggregation. Both anti-PAF and antiADP potency of the PL from its fermented product, apple cider CA, were lower than that of apple juice AA, but again the anti-ADP activity for the CA PL was found to be of similar potency with its anti-PAF effects. These results showed that, in contrast to all the other apple products, fermentation of apple juice AA from Jonagold varieties affects their PLrelated anti-platelet bioactivities against platelet aggregation, an effect that was of similar magnitude against both the different PAF and ADP pathways of platelet aggregation

Summary

Introduction

Specific foods and beverages included in a healthy diet contain natural bioactive compounds with health benefits and especially for preventing several inflammation-related chronic pathologies [1,2]. Phenolic compounds and bioactive polar lipids (PLs) found in foods and beverages like olive oil, fish and red and white wine have demonstrated cardio protective properties by reducing or preventing inflammation [1,2,3]. Apples and apple products like apple juice and cider have been proposed to belong in this category of healthy foods/fruits and beverages, respectively. Cider is an ancient beverage made from the fermented juices of apples. It has an alcohol content ranging between 1.2% and 8.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) [4], lower than wine due to the lower sugar content of apples compared to grapes. Fermentation is the basis for cider production too, while the composition of apple cider is affected by the variety of apple, growth conditions, apple cultivar, ripening stage, fermentation type, yeast strains, equipment and method, and the use of additives [5]

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