Anthocyanins composition and antimicrobial properties of Vaccinium xcovilleanum berry and berry skin extracts

Abstract

Berries of highbush blueberry Vaccinium xcovilleanum are very important for human diet by their secondary metabolites that in low amounts are beneficial to human health. The aim of this study was to determine total anthocyanins amounts in berry and berry skin extracts, to investigate their anthibacterial activity and to identify individual anthocyanins. Total anthocyanins in berry extracts ranged from 180 to 270 mg/100 g and from 742 to 1850 mg/100 g in berry skin extracts. The most prevalent anthocyanins were cyanidin-3-arabinoside, delphinidin-3-galactoside, cyanidin-3-galactoside, and petunidin-3-glucoside. The most sensitive to ethanol extracts of berry and berry skin were Citrobacter freundii, Listeria monocytogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli test cultures were distinguished by the largest resistance. Significant differences between antibacterial activity of berry skin and berry extracts were not determined.