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Wild sweet cherry, strawberry and bilberry as underestimated sources of natural colorants and bioactive compounds with functional properties

2023; Elsevier BV; Volume: 414; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.135669

1873-7072

Erika N. Vega, Patricia García‐Herrera, María Ciudad‐Mulero, Ma Ines Dias, María Cruz Matallana González, Montaña Cámara, Javier Tardío, M. Teresa Aguado, José Pinela, Tânia C. S. P. Pires, Lillian Barros, Virginia Fernández-Ruíz, Patrícia Morales,

Botanical Research and Applications

Wild edible fruits, neglected by the development of commercial agriculture, have recently aroused as a good source of natural colorants and bioactive compounds. These novel uses could cover the recent demand for healthier foods with functional properties. Prunus avium, Fragaria vesca and Vaccinium myrtillus wild fruits were characterized by individual anthocyanin profile and color CIELAB parameters, as well as phenolic fraction. In addition, some bioactivities were evaluated. In P. avium cyanidin-O-deoxyhexosyl-pentoside was the representative anthocyanin, in F. vesca pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and in V. myrtillus delphinidin-O-hexoside. The three wild edible fruits showed interesting antioxidant activity especially in OxHLIA assays. V. myrtillus was the fruit with the best results for the bacterial growth inhibition, while F. vesca with better fungal growth inhibition. These results evidenced the richness of these wild fruits in bioactive compounds and pigments with antioxidant capacity, therefore, their potential use as natural colorants for healthier food products design.