Abstract
• OxiCyan® is a phytocomplex based on bilberry and spirulina extracts. • The bilberry anthocyanin moiety exerts a direct effect on ROS quenching on HepG2 cells. • The constituents of spirulina induce ARE/Nrf2 pathway on HepG2 cells. • OxiCyan® is a strong antioxidant at the cellular level and triggers the natural antioxidant cell defense. The antioxidant activity of plant extracts requires compelling evidence of the physiological functions of antioxidants at the cellular level. In order to assess the antioxidant power of the phytocomplex OxiCyan®, a bilberry extract functionalized on spirulina, traditional chemical methods (DPPH and ABTS) were compared to in vitro cellular responses by using HepG2 human hepatocyte carcinoma 85011430 cell lines. OxiCyan® was found to act on HepG2 cells in a dual mode: with a direct effect on ROS scavenging and as a cytoprotective agent via induction of ARE/Nrf2 pathway. Direct ROS scavenging activity of OxiCyan® depended on the anthocyanin moiety provided by bilberry, whereas the gene activation of the ARE/Nrf2 pathway was triggered by spirulina chemical constituents. The comparative analysis of chemical and cellular assays indicated contrasting results. OxiCyan® showed a high antioxidant activity at the cellular level by both scavenging ROS and inducing the gene expression of natural antioxidant cell defense.
Highlights
The oxidative stress is caused by the unbalance in the prooxidantantioxidant activity of living cells, with prooxidant activities leading to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which cause cell damage (Oldham & Bowen, 1998)
In this work we evaluated the antioxidant activity of OxiCyan®, a phytocomplex composed by spirulina (Spirulina platensis) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) produced by Biosfered Srl (Italy) through a patented process
The results of this work indicate that OxiCyan®, a phytocomplex composed of bilberry and spirulina, shows a consistent antioxidant power when tested with both chemical and cellular-based assays
Summary
The oxidative stress is caused by the unbalance in the prooxidantantioxidant activity of living cells, with prooxidant activities leading to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which cause cell damage (Oldham & Bowen, 1998). ROS scavenging occurs naturally in living cells and includes both enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms; when prooxidants prevail, these natural measures become insufficient. In this cases, uptake of antioxidant can be supported by the diet through intake of fruits, vegetables and dietary supplements (Prior, Cao, Prior, & Cao, 2000). When the chemical antioxidant power of molecules and extracts tested with these methods is compared with a cellular-based activity, different and often contrasting results are obtained This is because these traditional chemical tests do not inform about the physiological functions of antioxidants. In 2012 USDA's Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) removed the USDA ORAC Database for Selected Foods from the NDL website due to mounting evidence that the values indicating antioxidant capacity have no relevance to the effects
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