CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Food components providing glucose andfat-lowering effects in the body can be useful to attenuate the negative healtheffects associated to high-carbohydrates and/or high-fat diets. Here, anthocyaninswere studied as potential inhibitors of α-glucosidase (α-G) and pancreaticlipase (PL) activities, two key enzymes responsible for carbohydrates and fatsdigestion, respectively. The anthocyanin profile of extracts obtained from bilberry(BB), blackcurrant (BC) and black rice (BR) was characterized. The capacity ofextracts, pure anthocyanins, and mixtures (representative of anthocyaninextracts composition) to inhibit the activity of α-G and PL was evaluated using enzymaticassays, including acarbose and orlistat as positive controls for α-G and PL,respectively. In a concentration range of 20-320 μg/mL, extracts showed a dose-dependentinhibitory effects on α-G activity. The calculated IC50 were 87 ± 7, 76 ± 7 and236 ± 25 μg/mL for BB, BC and BR, respectively. Some pure anthocyanins showedinhibitory actions (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside˃delphinidin-3-O-glucoside˃petunidin-3-O-glucoside) whereas the mixtures wereineffective at the assayed range concentration. In a broader concentrationrange (0-2000 μg/mL), extracts did not show significant inhibition on porcinePL activity, but most of the pure anthocyanins were effective (petunidin-3-O-glucoside˃cyanidin-3-O-glucoside˃delphinidin-3-O-glucoside˃malvidin-3-O-glucoside). No inhibition was observedfor peonidin-3-O-glucoside. Insummary, anthocyanins would contribute only marginally to the in vitro α-Ginhibition. Regarding PL activity, their inhibitory capacity was reduced when presentin extracts or mixtures, suggesting complex interactions with other componentsunder the in vitro used conditions. In vivo studies are needed to confirm theeffects of extracts/pure anthocyanins on enzymatic activities observed here