Study of the Phenolic Compounds and Biological Activities of the Wild Fruits of Vaccinium leucanthum Schltdl.

Around 450 species of blueberries of the genus Vaccinium are known, of which some have gained preferential breeding, such as the ‘Biloxi’ variety. Some little studied species, such as Vaccinium leucanthum Schltdl. located in Mexico, could be a potential source of bioactive compounds. In this study, the phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid content, hyperoside, phenols, flavonoids, tannins and total anthocyanins content) as well as the potential biological activity (antioxidant, antimicrobial, xanthine oxidase converting enzyme inhibition and angiotensin I inhibition) of Vaccinium leucanthum Schltdl. were studied, making a comparison with the Biloxi variety, which is the most widely cultivated one. The extract of V. leucanthum showed the highest content of flavonoids (4.853 ± 0.341 mg QE/g DW), total anthocyanins (0.303 ± 0.008 mg CGE/g DW), petunidin-3-glucoside (6.92 ± 0.12 mg PGE/g DW), malvidin-3-glucoside (11.80 ± 0.10 mg MGE/g DW) and hyperoside (5.137 ± 0.100 mg HE/g DW). It should be noted that V. leucanthum showed the same total tannin content and the same efficacy in the inhibition of Angiotensin I-converting enzyme as ‘Biloxi’, as well as the same antibacterial effect against the enterobacteria Salmonella choleraesuis ATCC 12022, Escherichia coli ATCC 12792and Shigella flexneri ATCC 10708. These findings demonstrate that V. leucanthum extracts could be an important source of preservatives as well as nutraceutical compounds for use in foods and medicines.