Anxiolytic-like effects using adult zebrafish, bioaccessibility and phenolic profile of matcha and sugarcane...

This work presents the development of functional beverages for brain health support formulated with matcha, sugarcane juice, and medicinal plants chamomile (CT) and lemon balm (LB) tea extracts.

For this, the anxiolytic-like effects were assessed using the in vivo adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) model for behavioral and toxicological analyses, as well as the in vitro bioactivity and total phenolic content TPC. Initially, three beverage bases with matcha and sugarcane juice were tested. Based on the positive anxiolytic-like effects, the prioritized beverage base BB3 (35% matcha and 65% sugarcane juice, v/v, 10.2 °Brix) was selected to produce three experimental beverages BBC (70% BB3, 30% CT), BBLB (70% BB3, 30% LB) and BBCLB (70% BB3, 15% LB and 15% CT).

Prioritized beverages BBLB and BBCLB had no effect on the adult zebrafish locomotion behavior and showed similar anxiolytic-like effects and phenolics bioaccessibility (29.8% and 30.8% for BBLB and BBCLB, respectively), as well as no toxicity. BBLB and BBCLB also showed similarly high phenolic content (669.84 ± 19.47 mg GAE/L and 729.43 ± 41.49 mg GAE/L, respectively).

A complex phenolic profile was observed for both beverages and myricetin, and chlorogenic acid was the predominant phenolic compound detected. Overall, this study demonstrated the successful development of safe, functional polyphenol-rich beverages with anxiolytic-like effects using readily available plant-based materials.