Isolation and Characterization of Phenolic Compounds and Anthocyanins from Murta (Ugni molinae Turcz.) Fruits. Assessment of Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

Berry fruit consumption has become important in the promotion of human health, mainly due to their phenolic compounds, which have been associated with protection against different pathologies, as well as antimicrobial and other biological activities. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in identifying natural antioxidants and antimicrobials from these plants. This study aimed to characterize the phenolic chemical composition and anthocyanin profile of murta (Ugni molinae Turcz.) fruit, and to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of its extracts (ethanolic and methanolic). LC/MS of the ethanolic extracts showed the presence of three major compounds: caffeic acid 3-glu, quercetin-3-glu and quercetin, while in the methanolic acid extract they were cyanidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-arabinose and delphinidin-3-glucoside. The antioxidant activity of ethanolic extracts (DPPH• and ORAC assays) was higher than that of methanol acid extracts or purified anthocynins. Furthermore, the methanol acid extract showed an inhibitory activity against the bacteria E. coli and S. typhi similar to that of standard antibiotics. The results suggest that the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract is regulated by the high content of phenolic compounds and the fruit’s characteristic color is due to the content of pelargonidin-3-arabinose and delphinidin-3-glucoside. The obtained results demonstrated the appreciable antioxidant and antibacterial activities, providing opportunities to explore murta extracts as biopreservatives.

Phytochemicals and Traditional Use of Two Southernmost Chilean Berry Fruits: Murta (Ugni molinae Turcz) and Calafate (Berberis buxifolia Lam.)

“…In a first report, two anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and peonidin-3-O-glucoside) were identified in murta whereas 18 anthocyanins (3-O-monoglycosylated and 3,5-O-diglycosylated delphinidins, cyanidins, petunidins, peonidins, and malvidins) were most abundant in calafate [28,37,38]. As can be expected by the wide variability of colors observed in murta ecotypes, subsequent studies [39] have described a greater number of anthocyanins where 3-O-glucosides of delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin have been also identified in murta fruit. Based on these findings, murta ( Figure 4a) and calafate ( Figure 4b) could be used as promising sources of a wide variety of anthocyanins.…”

“…The identification of other phenolic compounds in murta and calafate indicate the presence of phenolic acids (gallic acid, benzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, and hydrocaffeic acid), flavan-3-ols (epicatechin) and flavonols (quercetin, rutin, luteolin, kaempferol, and myricetin) in murta fruits [39,40]. On the other hand, 20 hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonols such as hyperoside, isoquercitrin, quercetin, rutin, myricetin, and isorhamnetin are more abundant in calafate fruits [39,41,42].…”

“…The identification of other phenolic compounds in murta and calafate indicate the presence of phenolic acids (gallic acid, benzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, and hydrocaffeic acid), flavan-3-ols (epicatechin) and flavonols (quercetin, rutin, luteolin, kaempferol, and myricetin) in murta fruits [39,40]. On the other hand, 20 hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonols such as hyperoside, isoquercitrin, quercetin, rutin, myricetin, and isorhamnetin are more abundant in calafate fruits [39,41,42]. Furthermore, among flavonoid subclasses, murta shows higher flavonol and flava-3-ols content (0.29 and 0.27 µ moL/g FW respectively) than calafate (0.16 and 0.24 µ moL/g FW respectively) whereas calafate has a higher anthocyanin content (17.8 µ moL/g FW) than murta (0.21 µ moL/g FW) associated with the deep-blue color of the calafate fruit [28].…”

In vitro Effects of Anthocyanidins on Sinonasal Epithelial Nitric Oxide Production and Bacterial Physiology

“…26 Because NO is an important component of sinonasal innate immunity, 19,27,28 we hypothesized that anthocyanidins may activate sinonasal T2Rs to generate NO. In addition, anthocyanidin-rich plant extracts have antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, 29,30 Escherichia coli, 29,31 Corynebacterium diphtheria, 32 Moraxella catarrhalis, 32 Bacillus cereus, 33 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 34 However, other studies have indicated that anthocyanidins do not have antibacterial effects against B. cereus, 34 E. coli, 34,35 or P. aeruginosa, 30 or that anthocyanidins only reduce inflammation.…”

Antioxidant activity and sensory analysis of murtilla (<em>Ugni molinae</em> Turcz.) fruit extracts in an oil model system

“…fruit, which is a Chilean berry, exhibit antioxidant activity via phenolic compounds (Alfaro et al, 2013;Augusto et al, 2014;Suwalsky and Avello, 2014;Rodríguez et al, 2014;Junqueira-Gonçalves et al, 2015;Jofré et al, 2016). For being a seasonal fruit, the drying process is considered an adequate technique for its preservation which saves the antioxidant properties provided by its polyphenolic components (Alfaro et al, 2014).…”