Background:

Vaccinium meridionale produces fruits with a high content of anthocyanins and polyphenols with great antioxidant capacity.

Objective:

produce vinegar from V. meridionale alcoholic beverages and to determine the content of bioactive antioxidant compounds, antioxidant capacity, and cytotoxic activity on colorectal cancer cells.

Methods:

Wine and vinegar samples were obtained by fermentation of V. meridionale berries juice, using three extractive processes: mechanical maceration (MAC), preheating to 80 °C (CAL) and a combination of both (MIX). During acetic fermentation, titratable acidity and acetic acid content were evaluated. Fermentation progress was recorded and compared by measuring the antioxidant potential by DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC. Polyphenols, anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids were quantified. Finally, the antiproliferative activity of vinegar was evaluated in SW480 colon cancer cells.

Results:

In acetic fermentation, yield and productivity were independent of extraction, indicating that they do not affect the biotransformation of alcohol into vinegar. The alcoholic beverages showed the highest antioxidant activity; after acetic fermentation, a decrease in antioxidant potential was observed in all three extractive processes evaluated. The different vinegar obtained by CAL and MIX, showed the highest values of antioxidant activity, polyphenols, and anthocyanins. The inhibition of the antiproliferative activity of vinegar was dose-dependent and showed an IC50 of 536 μg/mL.

Conclusions:

The vinegar prepared from V. meridionale berries presented an outstanding antioxidant and antiproliferative activity. The reason is the contents of bioactive compounds and their antioxidant power, which may contribute to chemoprevention in secondary cancer prevention.

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