Bioavailability and Antioxidant Activity of Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) Polyphenols: in vitro and in vivo Evidences and Possible Mechanisms of Action: A Review

Abstract

Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is a distinctive berry with a high content of polyphenol compounds and possesses one of the highest in vitro antioxidant activities among fruits. The bioavailability of aronia polyphenols seems to be low, but there is ample evidence for chokeberry health benefits including antidiabetic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic effects. This review presents the available information for the bioavailability and antioxidant activity of chokeberry polyphenols and explains the possible mechanisms of action in vivo in the prevention and treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases. The review shows the available data for chokeberry antioxidant activity in vitro, in isolated cells and cell lines, and in vivo, in both human subjects and animals. It is evident that in vivo antioxidant action of chokeberry extends far beyond radical scavenging and includes suppression of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species formation, inhibition of prooxidant enzymes, restoration of antioxidant enzymes, and probably cellular signaling to regulate the level of antioxidant compounds and enzymes. The original contribution of this work is that it compiles the available information up to date and outlines the gaps and future directions in the assessment of chokeberry antioxidant action in vivo.

The Mechanism of the Osteoprotective Action of a Polyphenol-Rich Aronia melanocarpa Extract during Chronic Exposure to Cadmium is Mediated by the Oxidative Defense System

“…The polyphenolic profile of A. melanocarpa berries is well known and widely reported [13,14,18]; however, the phytochemical profile of AME was estimated ( Fig. 1S, Supporting Information) and quantified by us (Table 10S, Supporting Information) [23].…”

“…The present paper is the first report providing evidence that the consumption of chokeberry extract under chronic exposure to Cd may offer protection from oxidative stress and oxidative modifications of protein, lipid, and DNA in the bone tissue, and that its protective action against Cd-induced bone damage is mediated by the oxidative defense system. The protective effect of AME can be explained by its high content of polyphenolic compounds, especially including anthocyanins, which possess strong antioxidative potential [13,14,[18][19][20]. Polyphenols act as direct free radical scavengers [20], inhibit the activities of pro-oxidative enzymes [20], and increase antioxidative enzyme activities [3,8,9] as well as play a role in the regeneration of antioxidative vitamins (vitamin C and E) [29,30].…”

“…Using a female rat model of low and moderate lifetime human exposure to Cd (1 and 5 mg Cd/kg diets, respectively, for up to 24 months), we have revealed that a polyphenol-rich AME may decrease the gastrointestinal absorption and body burden of this xenobiotic (including its accumulation in the liver, kidneys, and bone tissue) [22], as well as significantly prevent disturbances induced by this heavy metal in the bone turnover, and changes in the bone mineral status [23]. Taking into account the pro-oxidative action of Cd and oxidative stress involvement in the mechanisms of this metalʼs toxicity, including osteotoxic action [3,5,[24][25][26][27][28], and the strong antioxidative properties of chokeberry [13,14,[18][19][20], we have hypothesized that the osteoprotective effect reported by us [23] of AME during chronic exposure to Cd may be mediated by the oxidative defense system (the system of defense from oxidative processes and oxidative stress). The aim of the present paper was to investigate this hypothesis.…”

“…Elliott; Rosaceae]. Nowadays, the consumption of aronia berries is widely recommended as one of the most abundant sources of compounds having a beneficial influence on the organism, and the richest source among plant materials of anthocyanins, which are characterized by strong antioxidative properties [13,14,[18][19][20][21]. Data provided by Kowalczyk et al [15] and our recent findings [6,22,23] seem to indicate that the consumption of chokeberries and their products may prevent Cd accumulation in the body and its toxic action.…”

Feeding on ripening and over-ripening fruit: interactions between sugar, ethanol and polyphenol contents in a tropical butterfly

“…The polyphenol concentration used matches the natural content of fruit rich in polyphenols. Indeed, the dry extract that we used contains 1530 mg polyphenols 100 g −1 (Artemis International), thus resulting in a final concentration of 76.5 mg polyphenols l −1 (Denev et al, 2012;Manach et al, 2004). The energy content of the solutions mimicking unripe fruit (1600 kJ l −1 ) was reduced to 50% as compared with the solutions mimicking ripe and over-ripe fruit (3200 kJ l −1 for both).…”