Evaluating commercial food products for presence of blueberries and for their anti-inflammatory effects

Incorporation of blueberries in food products has increased rapidly in last decade. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the blueberry in commercial food products presence by measuring signature compounds, and to further assess their anti-inflammatory effects. Anthocyanins (ACNs) and chlorogenic acid (CGA) were selected as candidate signature compounds. In ten selected blueberry-containing commercial food products, only four contained ACNs, while eight contained CGA. Because CGA was more stable, it was considered as a better indicator of blueberry presence. Blueberry contents in these commercial food products were then estimated based on their CGA contents. Polyphenol-enriched fractions from these food products were prepared and subjected to NF-κB inhibition assay to evaluate their anti-inflammatory effects. All fractions inhibited NF-κB activation dose-dependently. There was a weak correlation between anti-inflammatory effects and blueberry contents. The data also pointed out that ACNs in their native forms were probably the most active anti-inflammatory components in blueberries. Journal of Nature and Science, 1(4):e65, 2015