Comparison of the antioxidant property of acerola extracts with synthetic antioxidants using an in vivo method with yeasts

• Published in: Food chemistry Vol. 277; pp. 698 - 705
• Main Authors: Cruz, Richtier Gonçalves da, Beney, Laurent, Gervais, Patrick, Lira, Simone Possedente de, Vieira, Thais Maria Ferreira de Souza, Dupont, Sebastien
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 30-03-2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acerola extracts; Antioxidant; Antioxidants - chemical synthesis; Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Ascorbic acid; Ascorbic Acid - chemistry; Ascorbic Acid - isolation & purification; Ascorbic Acid - pharmacology; Food engineering; Hydrogen Peroxide - pharmacology; Life Sciences; Malpighiaceae - chemistry; Malpighiaceae - metabolism; Phenolic compounds; Phenols - chemistry; Phenols - isolation & purification; Phenols - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - drug effects; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - growth & development; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism; Vitamin K 3 - pharmacology; Yeast; Ascorbic acid; Yeast; Acerola extracts; Antioxidant; Phenolic compounds
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.10.099

•Acerola extracts are rich in phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid.•The antioxidant property of acerola is compared with synthetic antioxidants.•Acerola extracts exhibit antioxidant activity in in vitro and in vivo experiments.•BHA presents negative effects in in vivo systems.
In this study, we compared the antioxidant activity of ripe and unripe acerola extracts with synthetic antioxidants (BHA and BHT). This activity was assessed by classical approaches (DPPH and ABTS) and by an in vivo method using yeasts. Acerola extracts contain phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid that exhibit radical scavenger capacity and reducing power. The results obtained with yeasts revealed that the acerola extracts and BHT either acted as antioxidants or presented no activity depending on the nature of the oxidant molecule used. BHA decreased yeast resistance to oxidative treatments and also showed deleterious effects even when oxidative treatments were not applied. The unripe acerola was the most efficient antioxidant in the in vitro experiments but not necessarily in the in vivo assays, showing the weakness of in vitro systems in predicting antioxidant responses for biological purposes. BHA presented cell damaging effects even in the absence of oxidizing reagents.