Anthocyanins profiling of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) extract that elucidates antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects

Abstract

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is a medicinal fruit known for its high content of anthocyanins, flavonoids, vitamins, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, tocopherols and phenolic acid. Bilberry has long been used in oriental medicine for the prevention and treatment of various diseases, such as visual acuity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, diabetes, cancer, obesity, inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we investigated using the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory of 70% ethanol extracts of bilberry in vitro. Antioxidant activities were measured with total phenolic, flavonoid and ascorbic acid contents. The bilberry extract (BE) showed significant free radical scavenging activities and inhibited oxidation of linoleic acid in a dose-dependent manner. BE also suppressed nitric oxide (NO) generation and reversed pro-inflammatory cytokines such as iNOS, COX-2, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. From these results, we suggest that BE is a natural powerful antioxidant, and the anti-inflammatory agent being a rich source of anthocyanins.