Strawberry and Achenes Hydroalcoholic Extracts and Their Digested Fractions Efficiently Counteract the AAPH-Induced Oxidative Damage in HepG2 Cells.

María Ariza,Sadia Afrin,Massimiliano Gasparrini,Francesca Giampieri,Lucía Cervantes,Elsa Martínez-Ferri,Maurizio Battino,Carmen Soria,Patricia Reboredo-Rodríguez,Tamara Forbes-Hernández

doi:10.3390/ijms19082180

Abstract

Strawberry fruits are highly appreciated by consumers worldwide due to their bright red color, typical aroma, and juicy texture. While the biological activity of the complete fruit has been widely studied, the potential beneficial effects of the achenes (commonly named seeds) remain unknown. In addition, when raw fruit and achenes are consumed, the digestion process could alter the release and absorption of their phytochemical compounds, compromising their bioactivity. In the present work, we evaluated the protective effects against oxidative damage of nondigested and digested extracts from strawberry fruit and achenes in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. For that purpose, cells were treated with different concentration of the extracts prior to incubation with the stressor agent, AAPH (2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride). Subsequently, intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the percentage of live, dead, and apoptotic cells were determined. Our results demonstrated that all the evaluated fractions were able to counteract the AAPH-induced damage, suggesting that the achenes also present biological activity. The positive effects of both the raw fruit and achenes were maintained after the in vitro digestion process.

Highlights

IntroductionThere is solid scientific evidence that verifies the direct relationship between high fruit and vegetable consumption and the prevention of several degenerative diseases [3,4]
A common denominator in the occurrence of most chronic diseases is the presence of oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between the production of radical species and antioxidant defenses (AOx) [1,2].There is solid scientific evidence that verifies the direct relationship between high fruit and vegetable consumption and the prevention of several degenerative diseases [3,4]
The strawberry and achenes fractions used in the present study were previously characterized by our group [16]

Summary

Introduction

There is solid scientific evidence that verifies the direct relationship between high fruit and vegetable consumption and the prevention of several degenerative diseases [3,4] Dietary antioxidants such vitamins and phytochemicals—usually present in this sort of food—seem to play an important role in increasing endogenous antioxidant systems and in the preservation of the ROS/AOxs balance [5]. The strawberry is an infructescence consisting of a fleshy floral receptacle that supports a cluster of real dry fruits (achenes) containing the seeds [13]. These two different tissues (flesh and achenes) significantly differ in terms of chemical composition and antioxidant capacity [14,15,16]. Achenes are normally discarded during fruit transformation processes in the horticultural industry; they could represent a potential source of bioactive ingredients

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