Enhancing stability and physiological activity of Aronia melanocarpa L. anthocyanin by polysaccharides

The existence of multiple phenolic hydroxyl groups in anthocyanins makes their structure unstable and leads to the degradation of anthocyanins. At present, there are few studies on the stability and physiological activity of Aronia melanocarpa L. anthocyanins by different polysaccharides. The present study investigated the effects of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), pectin and xanthan gum (XG) on the stability and biological activities of A. melanocarpa L. anthocyanins.

The anthocyanins of A. melanocarpa L. (AAM) were successfully extracted from A. melanocarpa L. with an extraction rate of 3.07 mg g^-1 by single factor and response surface experiments. The results of scanning electron microscopy and a multispectral technique showed that AAM-polysaccharides complex was combined by hydrogen bond, cation-π interaction and electrostatic interaction. The AAM-polysaccharides complex improved the retention rate of anthocyanins after treatment with light, heating, oxidant reducing agent, metal ions and preservatives compared to the results for AAM alone. Determination of DPPH· scavenging capacity, ABTS⁺ scavenging capacity and total reducing capacity indicated that the presence of polysaccharide could improve the antioxidant activity of AAM in vitro. The three polysaccharides combined with AAM showed higher binding ability to taurocholate and glycocholate compared to the AAM group, with the AAM-XG binding rate being the highest at 27.61% and 20.61%, respectively. The tyrosinase inhibition rate significantly increased with the incorporation of XG, reaching 72.22%.

The stability and physiological activity of AAM were improved after the addition of CMC, pectin and XG in the simulated system, and the presence of XG showed greater advantages. The present study strongly suggests that anthocyanins driven by polysaccharides have a positive effect on the stability and physiological activity of anthocyanins and may also provide a research basis for the development of processing technology for anthocyanins in food. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.