Assessment of Chemopreventive Contents of Native American Juneberries ( (Nutt.) Nutt. ex M. Roem.)

Abstract

Juneberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is a shrub with edible berry-like fruit commonly found across the Northern Great Plains of North America and widely used by Native Americans as a medicinal plant. This study was an effort to assess the chemopreventive contents of juneberry extracts in ethanol by measuring the total phenolic content, orthophenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical cation decolorization assay, and cytoprotective effects on HepG2 cells. The total phenolic content upon treatment with Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent ranged from 0.2261 ± 0.0031 to 19.311 ± 1.651 mg.g -1 tannic acid equivalents. Orthophenolic content quantified by monitoring the bathochromic shifts upon reacting with sodium molybdate ranged from 0.12 ± 0.03 to 2.38 ± 0.15 mg.g -1 of FW. Antioxidant activity using DPPH assay ranged from 50.08 ± 0.77 to 98.60 ± 1.12%, in contrast to quercetin dihydrate with an activity of 86.20 ± 0.05%. ABTS radical scavenging assay produced inhibition from 1.90 ± 0.11 to 60.25 ± 1.65% as opposed to 6-hydroxy-2, 5, 7, 8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox) with an inhibition of 94.03 ± 0.21% . HepG2 cells treated with 100 µg/µL of sample WC2B showed 56% cell-viability against tert-Butyl hydroperoxide in comparison to quercetin dihydrate which showed 90% cytoprotection. Total phenolic content and orthophenolic content in juneberries from 2012 were higher than in juneberries obtained from the 2013 and 2014. Similarly fruit grown in the wild showed significantly higher antioxidant activity and phenolic content than those grown in domestic cultivars.

Impact of Water and Nutrient Supplementation on Yield of Prairie Plantings of Juneberry Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt., Cultivar and Windbreak Plantings

“…Although lower in vitamin C than many berry fruits, the Juneberry is a good source of copper, manganese, magnesium, and carotenoids. Juneberry fruit is a rich source of polyphenols and has a high content of flavonoid antioxidants (anthocyanins, flavonols, procyadins, and phenolic acids) [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Historically, the fruit was used to treat diarrhea, sore eyes, and stomach and liver ailments [4,9,12].…”

“…Phytochemical analysis of the Juneberry fruit shows a high phenolic content and free-radical scavenging capacity [9,11,13]. The ability for crude fruit extracts to inhibit nitric oxide production in macrophage suggests a protective role against cardiovascular disease and chronic inflammation [14].…”