Survey of antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of blueberry,blackberry,and strawberry in Nanjing

Berries are a good source of natural antioxidants. In the present study, the total antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of three berry fruits （blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry） cultivated in Nanjing were investigated. Blueberry, with a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity （TEAC） value of 14.98 mmol Trolox/100 g dry weight （DW） exhibited the strongest total antioxidant capacity using both the 2,2-azinobis（3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid） diammonium salt （ABTS） and the 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl （DPPH） methods. Blueberry also had the highest total phenolic content （TPC, 9.44 mg gallic acid/g DW）, total flavonoid content （TFC, 36.06 mg rutin/g DW）, and total anthocyanidin content （TAC, 24.38 mg catechin/g DW）. A preliminary analysis using high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） showed that the blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry samples tested contained a range of phenolic acids （including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, eUagic acid, and cinnamic acid） and various types of flavonoids （flavone： luteolin; flavonols： rutin, myricetin, quercetrin, and quercetin; flavanols： gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, catechin, and catechin gallate; anthocyanidins： malvidin-3-galactoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, and cyanidin）. In particular, the blueberries had high levels of proanthocyanidins and anthocyanidins, which might be responsible for their strong antioxidant activities. These results indicate a potential market role for berries （especially blueberries） as a functional food ingredient or nutraceutical.

Verticase:a Fibrinolytic Enzyme Produced by Verticillium sp,Tj33,an Endophyte of Trachelospermum jasminoides

Plant endophytes are among the most important resources of biologically active metabolites. Twenty-three endophyte strains residing in Trachelospermum jasminoides were cultivated in vitro with the cultures assayed for the fibrinolytic substance production. As a result, the culture of VerticUlium sp. Tj33 was shown to be the most active. A fibrinolytic enzyme designated as verticase was subsequently purified from the supernatant of Verticillium sp. culture broth by a combination of DEAE-52, Sephadex G-75 and hydrophobic column chromatographies. Verticase, with its molecular mass of 31 kDa and pl of 8.5, was demonstrated to be homogeneous by sodium dodecyl suIfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing electrophoresis. Verticase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes fibrin directly without activation of plaminogen. It was stable in a broad pH range from 4 through to 11 with the optimal reaction pH value and temperature shown to be around 9-10 and 50-60℃, respectively. The fibrinolytic activity of verticase was severely inhibited by phenylmethylsulfony fluoride, indicating that verticase was a serine protease.

Survey of antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry in Nanjing

Berries are a good source of natural antioxidants.In the present study,the total antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of three berry fruits(blueberry,blackberry,and strawberry)cultivated in Nanjing were investigated.Blueberry,with a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity(TEAC)value of 14.98 mmol Trolox/100 g dry weight(DW),exhibited the strongest total antioxidant capacity using both the 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt(ABTS)and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH)methods.Blueberry also had the highest total phenolic content(TPC,9.44 mg gallic acid/g DW),total flavonoid content(TFC,36.08 mg rutin/g DW),and total anthocyanidin content(TAC,24.38 mg catechin/g DW).A preliminary analysis using high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)showed that the blueberry,blackberry,and strawberry samples tested contained a range of phenolic acids(including gallic acid,protocatechuic acid,p-hydroxybenzoic acid,vanillic acid,caffeic acid,p-coumaric acid,ferulic acid,ellagic acid,and cinnamic acid)and various types of flavonoids(flavone:luteolin;flavonols:rutin,myricetin,quercetrin,and quercetin;flavanols:gallocatechin,epigallocatechin,catechin,and catechin gallate;anthocyanidins:malvidin-3-galactoside,malvidin-3-glucoside,and cyanidin).In particular,the blueberries had high levels of proanthocyanidins and anthocyanidins,which might be responsible for their strong antioxidant activities.These results indicate a potential market role for berries(especially blueberries)as a functional food ingredient or nutraceutical.