Vaccinium myrtillus fruit (bilberry) is well known for its high richness in anthocyanins, which may be responsible for its preventive effects on several oxidative and carbonyl stress-related pathologies. However, limited data are available regarding the antioxidant and antiglycative contributions of its constituents. Spectrometric analyses were performed to evaluate anthocyanin content, radical scavenging and antiglycative properties of an anthocyanin-rich extract from bilberries. Additionally, original DPPH and methylglyoxal pre-column HPLC methods were instigated to allow straightforward identification of the main contributors to radical and carbonyl trapping effects. Finally, representative pure anthocyanins were evaluated using classical DPPH and antiglycation assays. Delphinidin, petunidin and cyanidin glycosides were identified as the most effective radical scavenging constituents in both HPLC and spectrometric DPPH evaluations. Potent antiglycative activities were also assessed for cyanidin, delphinidin and petunidin glucosides as attested by their respective IC50 values of 114.2 ± 7.8, 130.5 ± 2.8, and 132.4 ± 3.7 µM. Interestingly, methylglyoxal spiking evaluation demonstrated that all bilberry anthocyanins exerted noticeable and comparable α-dicarbonyl trapping effects. Anthocyanins can be regarded as potent antiglycoxidant agents that might account for some health benefits of bilberries consumption. Besides, significant differences in their contributions were successfully highlighted by the employed pre-column HPLC assays.
Keywords: BSA/D-ribose assay; anthocyanins; antioxidant; bilberry; cyanidin glycosides; delphinidin; glycation; petunidin; pre-column HPLC method.