Phytochemical profile and the antioxidant activity of Chilean wild black-berry fruits, Aristotelia chilensis (Mol) Stuntz (Elaeocarpaceae) Carlos L. Céspedes a, * , Maribel Valdez-Morales b , José G. Avila c , Mohammed El-Hafidi d , Julio Alarcón a , Octavio Paredes-López b a Plant Biochemistry and Phytochemical-Ecology Laboratory, Department of Basic Sciences, University of Bío-Bío, Chillán, Chile b Laboratorio de Biotecnología de los Alimentos, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados – IPN, Unidad Irapuato, Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico c Laboratorio de Fitoquímica, UBIPRO-FES-Iztacala, UNAM, Mexico d Departmento de Bioquímica, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología ‘‘Ignacio Chávez”, Juan Badiano 1, Sección XVI, Tlalpan, 14080, México D.F., Mexico article info Article history: Received 18 June 2009 Received in revised form 17 July 2009 Accepted 22 July 2009 Keywords: Flavonoids Phenolic acids Anthocyanins Antioxidant activity Aristotelia chilensis Elaeocarpaceae abstract From ethanolic, water extracts and their fractions of mature fruits of wild black-berry Aristotelia chilen- sis (Mol) Stuntz (Elaeocarpaceae), different phenolic compounds were identified by chromatographic (HPLC) and unequivocally assignments by spectroscopic (UV, NMR) data analysis. Anthocyanidins, flavonoids and phenolic acids fractions were obtained using flash and open column chromatography. The main compounds gentisic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, sinapic acid, 4-hydroxyben- zoic acid, delphinidin, cyanidin, vanillic acid, delphinidin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, quercetin, rutin, myricetin, catechin and epi-catechin as mixture 1:1, and several glycosides of anthocyanidins (delphin- idin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside, delphinidin-3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside, cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside, delphinidin-3-sambubioside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-sambubio- side, and cyanidin-3-glucoside), and proanthocyanidin B were detected. In addition to phytochemical analysis the antioxidant activities of extracts, partitions and fractions were strongly correlated with the highest polyphenol contents. The most active samples were the ethanolic and acetone extracts in all bioassays used and all samples were compared for activity against butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT), quercetin and tocopherol used as pattern samples. The juice (E), EtOH extract (A) and acetone partition (B) were found to have IC 50 values of 4.7, 1.7 and 7.4 ppm, respectively against DPPH and 5.9, 2.1 and 3.9 ppm, respectively against TBARS formation. Additionally, the fraction F-4 showed a strong activity with IC 50 of 4.9 and 6.5 ppm, against DPPH and TBARS respectively. Consistent with this finding, EtOH extract had the greatest ORAC and FRAP values as percentage of activity. On the other hand the IC 50 values for the inhibitory activity against O ÅÀ 2 of extract B, F-3 and F-4 were 9.7, 13.2 and 10.7 ppm, respectively and against OH ÅÀ were 29.1, 7.0 and 6.3 ppm, respectively. The EtOH extract protects against stress oxidative reducing the concentration of the MDA a lipid peroxidation index. These results shows that this fruit could be useful as antioxidant and nutraceutical sources. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Antioxidants are substances that delay the oxidation process, inhibiting the polymerisation chain initiated by free radicals and other subsequent oxidising reactions (Halliwell & Aruoma, 1991). This concept is fundamental to biomedical, nutraceutical, food chemistry and phytochemical sciences, where synthetic antioxi- dants like butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) have long been used to preserve quality of food by protecting against oxidation-related deterioration. A growing body of literature points to the impor- tance of natural antioxidants from many plants, which may be used to reduce cellular oxidative damage, not only in foods, but also in the human body. This may provide protection against chronic diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation and cardiovascular disease (Prior, Wu, & Schaich, 2005). The increasing interest in the measurement of the antioxidant activity of different plant samples is derived from the overwhelm- ing evidence of the importance of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), including superoxide (O ÅÀ 2 ), peroxyl (ROO Å ), alkoxyl (RO Å ), hydroxyl (OH ÅÀ ), and nitric oxide (NO Å ) radicals in aging and chronic disease 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.07.045 * Corresponding author. Address: Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Av. Andrés Bello s/n, Casilla 447, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chillán, Chile. Tel.: +56 42 253277; fax: +56 42 203046. E-mail address: cespedes_leonardo@yahoo.com (C.L. Céspedes). Food Chemistry 119 (2010) 886–895 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem