Antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of Vacciniun corymbosum L. cultivated in Tucumán, Argentina

Abstract

Among berries, blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) are considered one of the main sources of phenolic compounds and are appreciated for their high antioxidant activity. Due to the apparent relationship between phytochemicals in plants to the prevention of chronic diseases, the study of the content and physiological activity of phenolic compounds and other bioactive metabolites present in blueberries is interesting. In this work, Tucuman blueberries of the O'Neal variety were used, out of which four different extracts were obtained. One of them was obtained by sequential leaching with hydroalcoholic mixtures from frozen fresh fruits (E1), a second extract from aqueous leaching (E2), and acetone as solvent (E3). Spectrophotometric techniques were performed to quantify Total Phenols, Total Flavonoids and Anthocyanins. The extracts presented a similar quantitative profile of phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained was evaluated using two different techniques (ABTS•+ and DPPH•). The extracts showed a free radical inhibitory activity and a similar reducing power. Through the acute toxicity test (24h) of the organic and aqueous extracts from the blueberry on C. elegans, .it was possible to determine that the extracts under study do not show toxicity for further study.