Abstract
Among Vaccinium species, blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) are popular in the human diet. In this study, total phenolic, total flavonoid and total monomeric anthocyanin contents in the ethanol-water extracts of blueberry and lingonberry fruits grown wild in the forests in the central region of Poland were assayed. Antioxidant activities of the extracts from each plant were also evaluated for scavenging ability on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and reducing power by cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) method. Total phenolics in the blueberry extracts ranged from 4.58 to 5.28 mg GAE CE/g fw. The extracts from lingonberry fruits contained higher total contents of phenolic compounds (5.82–7.60 mg GAE/g fw) as well as total flavonoids (5.22–6.47 μmol CE/g fw) than those from blueberries (3.74–4.18 μmol CE/g fw). For the total monomeric anthocyanin contents, the blueberry extracts presented significantly higher values (3.01–3.93 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) equivalent/g fw) in comparison to the lingonberry extracts (0.32–0.47). Blueberry extracts exhibited higher antioxidant activity measured by both assays in comparison to lingonberry extracts. Water extracts from fresh and dried fruits also exhibited significant antioxidant activities for both types of berries. Considering the health benefits that have been associated with polyphenolic consumption, these fruits could appear as a good source of this group of phytochemical compounds for their direct consumption or their use as ingredients for the design of new food products or food supplements.
Highlights
Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended in dietary guidelines worldwide as they are rich in nutrients and phytochemicals
In the preliminary experiments the stability of phenolic compounds present in studied fruits of berries was checked at elevated temperature during extraction process
Our results are in accordance with Arancibia-Avila et al [28], who found that berries subjected to thermal processing not more than 20 min maximally preserved their bioactivity
Summary
Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended in dietary guidelines worldwide as they are rich in nutrients and phytochemicals. Fruits are mostly collected from wild plants growing on publicly accessible lands and you can buy them at the local markets. Their consumption has been linked to the prevention of some chronic and degenerative diseases and the most significant health benefits are ascribed to phenolic compounds and vitamin C [4,5,6]. These berries contain other bioactive substances, such as folate, potassium and soluble fiber. Vaccinium myrtillus fruits have been used in the traditional medicine internally (as tea or liqueur) for treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and diabetes
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