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Anthocyanins in brain regions after long‐term blueberry feeding
Author(s) -
Milbury Paul E.,
Kalt Wilhelmina
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.230.4
Subject(s) - bioavailability , chemistry , metabolite , anthocyanin , xenobiotic , signal transduction , biochemistry , neuroprotection , metabolic pathway , metabolism , biology , pharmacology , food science , enzyme
Xenobiotic metabolism involves ancient and well conserved pathways that cause biotransformation and removal of foreign compounds taken in by an organism. Anthocyanins are quickly removed from the body via xenobiotic metabolism. Nevertheless, evidence suggests these polyphenolic compounds may protect neurological tissues by reducing neuroinflammation, decreasing age‐related neurodegenerative disorders, and cognitive decline. Research of the past decades demonstrates that anthocyanins are potent modulators of cell signal transduction and are capable of altering hundreds of metabolic pathways in mammalian cells. Anthocyanins are bioavailability to the circulation; however, less is known about their bioavailability to brain tissue. Understanding anthocyanins and/or anthocyanin metabolite bioavailability to the brain is critical to ascertain their plausible bioactivity. Here we report levels of anthocyanins found in cortex, cerebellum, and midbrain & diencephalon at 18 hours postprandial in pigs fed 2% whole freeze dried blueberries in the diet for 8 weeks. Anthocyanins were found in the femptomole/gram FW tissue range with glucuronides at 1/10th the levels of parent anthocyanins. At these levels plausible mechanism of neuroprotective action of anthocyanins are more likely via modulation of signal transduction processes and/or gene expression rather than by direct radical quenching.