Antioxidant and Antitumor Properties of Wild Blueberry (Sideroxylon mascatense): Effects of Drying Methods

Shaima Al Hasani, Zahir Al-Attabi*, Mostafa Waly, Mohammad Rahman, Yahya Tamimi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Sideroxylon mascatense is a wild blueberry plant that traditionally known as 'boot' in Oman. Studies on health beneficial effects of this fruit are very limited. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antitumor properties of Sideroxylon mascatense under different drying methods. Materials and Methods: Freeze (-20°C) and air drying (60 and 90°C) methods were used. The antioxidant potential properties were evaluated using DPPH and ABTS assay. Moreover, the antitumor activities of blueberry extracts were determined using Alamar blue assay. Results: The results of this study revealed that a blueberry extract at 20 mg powder/mL provided the maximum amount of vitamin C, reaching a value of 19.45 mg/100 g dry-basis in the flesh dried at 60°C and 14.24 mg/100 g dry-basis in seed dried at 90°C. The freeze-dried blueberry exhibited the highest percentage of free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) from both fruit flesh (50.8%) and seeds (39.4%) at a concentration of 20 mg/mL indicating a higher antioxidant activity. There was no significant difference in the ability of blueberry extracts to scavenge radical cations (ABTS+) at various concentrations of extracts. However, there was a 40% reduction of ABTS+radical formation in blueberry flesh extracts obtained from freeze-dried berry at a concentration of 20 mg/mL. On the other hand, blueberry seeds showed variation in the scavenging activity of the ABTS+radical of 38% after different processing methods. Breast MCF7 and ovarian Ov2008 tumor cell lines were the most sensitive to the dried blueberry. The 50% growth inhibition (IC50) of the freeze-dried blueberry extract at both cell lines was 64 and 69 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings indicated a potent antioxidant activity of Sideroxylon mascatense, but further research is required to isolate the active compounds in the fruit and test their effects in an experimental animal model.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)71-79
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 1 2021

Keywords

  • Antioxidants
  • cancer
  • drying methods
  • sideroxylon mascatense

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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