Abstract
In recent years, consumers’ preference for fruits such as blueberry has increased noticeably. This fact is probably related to their bioactive components such as anthocyanins, phenolic compounds, vitamins, minerals, and tannins that have been found in blueberries by the latest research studies. Both total anthocyanins (TA) and total phenolic compounds (TPC) are known for their multiple beneficial effects on our health, due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer properties. This is the reason why the development of new methodologies for the quality control analysis of raw materials or derived products from blueberry has a great relevance. Two ultrasound-assisted extraction methods (UAE) have been optimized for the quantification of TA and TPC in blueberry samples. The six variables to be optimized were: solvent composition, temperature, amplitude, cycle, extraction solvent pH, and sample/solvent ratio using response surface methodology. The optimized methods have proven to be suitable for the extraction of the TPC and TA with good precision (repeatability and intermediate precision) (coefficient of variation (CV) < 5%) and potentially for application in commercial samples. This fact, together with the multiple advantages of UAE, makes these methods a good alternative to be used in quality control analysis by both industries and laboratories.
Highlights
Blueberry is a small reddish or bluish-black fruit with a size of around 1.5 cm in diameter that grows in deciduous shrubs from the Ericaceae family [1,2]
The aim of this research was the optimization of two different methods both based on ultrasound-assisted extraction methods (UAE) to find the maximum recovery of bioactive compounds (TA and total phenolic compounds (TPC)) from blueberry samples
The average prediction error was 3.84% and ranged from 0.36% up to 13.08%. These results suggest an influence of the variables that had been considered for the study on the TPC extracted from the blueberry samples
Summary
Blueberry is a small reddish or bluish-black fruit with a size of around 1.5 cm in diameter that grows in deciduous shrubs from the Ericaceae family [1,2]. Recent investigations have proven its high content in anthocyanins, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals. The Ericaceae family includes nearly 4000 different plant species, where the Vaccinium genus is one of the best known and more frequently consumed [8]. The Vaccinium genus can be categorized into four main varieties: bilberry (V. myrtillus), blueberry (V. angustifolium, V. ashei, and V. corymbosum), cranberry (V. macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos), and lingonberry With a bittersweet and rather pleasant flavor, exhibits very interesting nutritional properties because of its high content in compounds of biological interest such as phenolic compounds, like catechol, coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, epicathechin, gallic acid, anthocyanins (cyanidin 3-O-galactoside, delphinidin 3-O-arabinoside, petunidin 3-O-galactoside, malvidin 3-O-galactoside, etc.) and flavonols (mainly quercetin derivatives) [9,10,11,12,13]. Culture conditions of V. corymbosum have shown a clear influence on its composition, including phenolic compounds
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