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Investigating anthocyanin contents and in vitro tumor suppression properties of blueberry extracts prepared by various processes

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Abstract

Blueberries are best known for their high content of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds which provide health benefits. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of microwave, pressurized solvent, and supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction techniques on the anthocyanin content of the water extracts obtained from dry whole blueberries. Effect of the blueberry extracts on selected cancer cell lines was also investigated. Neat and ethanol entrained SC-CO2 extracts did not contain detectable amount of anthocyanin. Microwave power did not have a significant effect on anthocyanin recovery. The blueberry juice (BJ) prepared by homogenization of fresh berries followed by microfiltration had the highest anthocyanin content among the extracts examined in this study. However, the blueberry water extracts prepared using other extraction techniques had a higher total phenolic content than the BJ. The effect of the blueberry extracts on the cancer cell lines was dose-dependent and varied with the cell type and the composition of the extract. BJ had a similar IC50 to the commercial cancer treatment drug doxorubicin for the cancer cell line MCF7. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect of blueberry extract composition on the viability of different cancer lines.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Sabbatical Leave Program, for the funding provided to N.T. Dunford.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Novel Fluidic Technologies and Applications Group, Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, 35100, Izmir, Bornova, Turkey

    Aslihan Kazan & Ozlem Yesil-Celiktas

  2. Department of Biology, Biotechnology Discipline, Science and Art Faculty, Kocaeli University, 41380, Izmit, Kocaeli, Turkey

    Canan Sevimli-Gur

  3. Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Nurhan Tugut Dunford

  4. Robert M Kerr Food & Agricultural Product Center, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Nurhan Tugut Dunford

Authors
  1. Aslihan Kazan
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  2. Canan Sevimli-Gur
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  3. Ozlem Yesil-Celiktas
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  4. Nurhan Tugut Dunford
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Correspondence to Nurhan Tugut Dunford.

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Kazan, A., Sevimli-Gur, C., Yesil-Celiktas, O. et al. Investigating anthocyanin contents and in vitro tumor suppression properties of blueberry extracts prepared by various processes. Eur Food Res Technol 242, 693–701 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-015-2577-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-015-2577-9

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