Abstract
Cherries are known for their nutraceutical properties, in particular for their antioxidant ability due to their polyphenol content, which causes a reduction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. However, once ingested these molecules are degraded in the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract before reaching the blood, which is the action site. The object of the present work is to evaluate the ability of cherry extract (CE), encapsulated in nanoparticles (NPs) based on different chitosan (Ch) derivatives, to promote a protective effect of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) involved in vascular dysfunction against oxidative stress. CE-loaded NPs based on quaternary ammonium chitosan (NP1) and an S-protected thiolated derivative thereof (NP2) were prepared. The mean particle size (NP1 344.9 ± 17.8, NP2 339.9 ± 68.2 nm), the polydispersity index, the encapsulation efficiency (NP1 78.4 ± 4.5, NP2 79.8 ± 0.6%), and the zeta potential (NP1 14.8 ± 0.3, NP2 15.8 ± 0.5 mV) did not appear to be significantly different. Both NP types improved the CE apparent permeation parameters with respect to the control. Conversely, CE-loaded NP2 protected HUVECs from oxidative stress and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production more than CE-loaded NP1 and free CE. In addition to promoting HUVEC resistance, NP2 could be a useful tool to overcome the problem of cherry seasonality.
Highlights
Nutraceuticals and functional foods have raised considerable interest due to their presumed safety and potential nutritional and therapeutic effects [1]
When compared to total polyphenol content (TPC) values from other cherry varieties of Prunus avium L. from southern Italy, the TPC of cherry extract (CE) obtained from fresh fruits (402.5 ± 8.4 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g fresh weight (FW)) turned out to be the uppermost [32,33]
After CE freeze-drying, the analysis with ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Folin–Ciocalteu reagents always resulted in high antioxidant power (0.229 mg of Fe2+ /mL) and TPC
Summary
Nutraceuticals and functional foods have raised considerable interest due to their presumed safety and potential nutritional and therapeutic effects [1]. Cherry fruits have widely been described for their nutritional properties and beneficial effects of their compounds on human health [5]. The most representative molecules in cherries are polyphenols such as flavonoids and anthocyanins, which represent the most abundant antioxidants in the diet [7]. Their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties have previously been described [8,9]. Cherry extracts (CEs) are characterized by a high content in phenols and high nutraceutical potential, which could prevent chronic diseases
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