Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of a flavonoid-rich concentrate recovered from Opuntia ficus-indica juice

Abstract

In this work, Opuntia ficus indica juice was explored as a potential source of natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients towards intestinal inflammation. An adsorption separation process was used to produce a natural flavonoid-rich concentrate (FRC) from Opuntia ficus-indica juice. The FRC effect (co- or pre-incubation) on induced-oxidative stress and induced-inflammation was evaluated in human Caco-2 cells. The main constituents identified and present in the extract are flavonoids (namely isorhamnetins and their derivatives such as isorhamnetin 3-O-rhamnose-rutinoside and isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside) and phenolic acids (such as ferulic, piscidic and eucomic acids). Our results showed that co-incubation of FRC with the stress-inducer attenuates radicals production in a much more significant manner than pre-incubation. These results suggest that FRC compounds which cannot pass the cell membrane freely (isorhamnetin derivatives) have an ability to inhibit the formation of H2O2-induced radicals in the surrounding environment of intestinal epithelial cells. The capacity of FRC (co-incubation) for suppressing (at the extracellular level) free radicals chain initiation or propagation reaction was probably related with a more pronounced reduction in protein oxidation. A similar response was observed in the inflammatory state, where a marked decrease in IL-8 secretion and blocked degradation of IκBα was achieved for FRC co-incubation. Simultaneously, treatment with FRC significantly reduces NO and TNF-α expression and modulates apparent permeability in Caco-2 cells. In these cases, no significant differences were found between pre- and co-incubation treatments suggesting that bioavailable phenolics, such as ferulic, eucomic and piscidic acids and isorhamnetin, act at the intracellular environment.

Inhibitory potential of prickly pears and their isolated bioactives against digestive enzymes linked to type 2 diabetes and inflammatory response

“…Although present in all tissue extracts, its presence was highest in peel extracts with values of 8776.5, 7977.8, 5390.3, 6562.8, 6758.2, and 7243.1 μg mL −1 extract in Morada, Sanguinos, Verdal, Pelota, Vigor, and Diamante varieties, respectively. Recent studies have also identified piscidic acid as one of the main constituents in prickly pear fruit juices along with ferulic acid and eucomic acids, but they have not quantified this compound due to the unavailability of commercial standards.…”

A bioaccessible fraction of parboiled germinated brown rice exhibits a higher anti-inflammatory activity than that of brown rice

“…31 Inhibition of the activity of cytokines represents a therapeutic strategy for IBD. [35][36][37] The first objective of the study was to compare the bioaccessibility and intestinal cellular uptake of GABA, γ-oryzanol, vitamin E and phenolic acids in digested BR and PGBR using the coupled in vitro digestion method and the Caco-2 human intestinal cell model. 34 Consequently, there is increased interest in the identification of dietary compounds that are relatively safe and affordable for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disorders.…”

Qualitative evaluation of fruits from different Opuntia ficus‐indica ecotypes/cultivars harvested in South Portugal

“…In Portugal, the phenolic including flavonoids and betalain profiles of juice obtained from the wild fruits of O. ficus-indica collected in Alentejo [Marvão (Portalegre), Sines (Setúbal) Beja and Ribatejo [Tramagal (Santarém)] were recently studied, as well as their potential as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative agents (Mata et al, 2016;Matias et al, 2014;Serra, Poejo, Matias, Bronze, & Duarte, 2013).…”