Enhancement on antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Brightwell blueberry by extraction and purification

Abstract A blueberry anthocyanin extract was obtained from Brightwell blueberry fruits cultivated in eastern China and the extraction and purification conditions were optimized. The components of the anthocyanin extract were identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization interface-mass spectrometer. The antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the blueberry fruit supernatant (BFS), blueberry anthocyanin crude extract (BCE), and blueberry anthocyanin rich extract (BRE) were evaluated. The extraction yield was 1.79 ± 0.0014 mg/g under the following optimal conditions: 1:20 solid-to-liquid ratio (v/w), 24 h, 34 °C, and 90% ethanol containing 0.21% (v/v) hydrochloric acid. With regard to purification, anthocyanin purity increased 19.1-fold. Nine fractions were identified as the glycosides of delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, and malvidin. The biological activities of the blueberry anthocyanin extract were improved through extraction and purification. Compared with BFS and BCE, BRE had a higher DPPH radical scavenging activity (EC 50 = 0.51 mg/mL), ABTS antioxidant capacity (EC 50 = 0.32 mg/mL), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (0.43 mmol Trolox/g). Furthermore, BRE (2 mg/mL) showed a maximum of 84.64 ± 0.35% reduction in the biofilm biomass of Listeria monocytogenes and the inhibition zone given by BRE against Escherichia coli was 16.04 ± 0.38 mm. BRE showed the highest antioxidant capacities and obvious antibacterial effects against food-related microorganisms than the other samples. Therefore, BRE can be used as a natural antioxidant and antibacterial agent and has potential health advantages and food industry applications.