Neuroprotective Potential of Tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) Epicarp Extracts Obtained by Sustainable Extraction Process

Zully Jimena Suárez-Montenegro; Diego Ballesteros-Vivas; Rocío Gallego; Alberto Valdés; Jose David Sánchez-Martínez; Fabián Parada-Alfonso; Elena Ibáñez; Alejandro Cifuentes

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.769617

Neuroprotective Potential of Tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) Epicarp Extracts Obtained by Sustainable Extraction Process

Front Nutr. 2021 Nov 15:8:769617. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.769617. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Zully Jimena Suárez-Montenegro^{1

2}, Diego Ballesteros-Vivas^{3

4}, Rocío Gallego¹, Alberto Valdés¹, Jose David Sánchez-Martínez¹, Fabián Parada-Alfonso³, Elena Ibáñez¹, Alejandro Cifuentes¹

Affiliations

¹ Foodomics Laboratory, Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL, CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
² Departamento de Procesos Industriales, Facultad de Ingenieria Agroindustrial, Universidad de Nariño, Pasto, Colombia.
³ High Pressure Laboratory, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Food Chemistry Research Group, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
⁴ Departamento de Nutrición y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.

Abstract

Tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendt.), or tree tomato, is a tropical fruit from the Andean region of South America; it is highly rich in vitamins, minerals, and polyphenolic compounds. In this study, extracts from tamarillo epicarp (TE) were obtained by pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), and their in-vitro neuroprotective potential was assessed. A central composite design with response surface methodology was performed to optimize PLE as a function of solvent composition and temperature. Selected response variables were extraction yield, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total carotenoid content (TCC), antioxidant (ABTS), and anti-inflammatory (LOX) activities, and anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory capacity. According to the desirability function, the optimal conditions were 100% ethanol and 180°C with a 0.87 desirability value. Next, the anti-butyrylcholinesterase enzyme (BChE), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) inhibition as well as cytotoxicity in HK-2, THP-1 monocytes, and SH-5YSY neuroblastoma cell lines were studied for the TE extract obtained under optimized conditions. The optimum TE extract provided the following results: extraction yield (36.25%), TPC (92.09 mg GAE/g extract), TFC (4.4 mg QE/g extract), TCC (107.15 mg CE/g extract), antioxidant capacity (ABTS, IC₅₀ = 6.33 mg/ml extract), LOX (IC₅₀ = 48.3 mg/ml extract), and AChE (IC₅₀ = 97.46 mg/ml extract), and showed no toxicity at concentration up to 120 μg/ml extract for all the tested cell lines. Finally, chemical characterization by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-q-TOF-MS/MS) of the optimum TE extract exhibited an important presence of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and other phenolic acids as well as quercetin hexoside and rutin, as main metabolites responsible for the observed biological properties. All these results suggested that TE, which represents between 8 and 15% of the total fruit, could become a promising natural by-product with a potential "multitarget" activity against Alzheimer's disease.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cyphomandra betacea; green extraction; neuroprotective activity; polyphenol extracts; pressurized liquid extraction; tropical fruit by-product.