Vaccinium (Ericaceae): Ethnobotany and pharmacological potential

Vaccinium myrtillus L. Fruits as a Novel Source of Phenolic Compounds with Health Benefits and Industrial Applications - A Review

“…The American Herbal Products Association classified V. myrtillus as a Class 1 product category assigned when considering it as safe to consume [ 19 ]. The fruits of this plant are usually consumed as food, while the leaves or aerial parts are commonly associated with their medicinal use [ 5 , 20 ]. V. myrtillus berries can be consumed fresh, frozen and dried, as well as in their processed forms, such as juices, jams or food supplements [ 14 ].…”

“…This was proven through studies performed from several authors, which demonstrated that bilberries fruits growing in northern latitudes present higher phenolic contents than those from southern latitudes [17,18]. There are more than 70 registered ethnomedical and food uses of 36 Vaccinium species, being V. myrtillus, the species with the highest number of described uses [5]. The American Herbal Products Association classified V. myrtillus as a Class 1 product category assigned when considering it as safe to consume [19].…”

“…Nevertheless, it is due to their high levels of anthocyanins that these fruits are recognized for their bioactive properties [ 4 ]. Anthocyanins, besides being responsible for the blue color of bilberries, are the major group of flavonoids in these berries and have been associated to many beneficial health effects, such as prevention or treatment of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, aging diseases, urinary tract infections and periodontal diseases [ 5 , 6 ]. The high content of these flavonoids has also highlighted these fruits as interesting sources of coloring compounds for food and pharmaceutical applications [ 7 ].…”

Evaluation of antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of extracts from fruits in fibroblastoma HT1080 cell lines: four fruits with commercial potential in Colombia

“…The extracts from Averrhoa carambola L. (carambolo), Vitis vinifera (Isabella grape), Bactris minor (corozo) and Vaccinium meridionale (agraz) are considered to exhibit a potential antioxidant and antitumoral properties because of its content of phenolic compounds (anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols, etc, Table 1) (Gaviria Montoya et al, 2009;Tobar-Reyes et al, 2009;Abreu et al, 2014). However, so far there are no studies demonstrating a direct antioxidant and antitumoral capacity in cell lines culture.…”

Cytotoxic and antioxidant capacity of extracts from Vaccinium meridionale Swartz (Ericaceae) in transformed leukemic cell lines

“…Studies in some fruits and vegetables have shown to have a high content of antioxidants which has been recommended for frequent consumption. The current trend is the use of natural antioxidants so they can be used in food industry since it is presumed they do not cause health problems (Garzón et al, 2010;Abreu et al, 2014). Group of molecules commonly found in studies phytochemicals are flavonoids, these are characterized by their ability to scavenge free radicals which cause oxidative stress (Gaviria-Montoya et al, 2009) attributing them the prevention of cardiovascular, circulatory, cancer and neurological diseases among others (Alvarez-Castro et al, 2003;SequedaCastañeda et al, 2016).…”