• Jessica Tabart, Cyril Auger, Claire Kevers, Jacques Dommes, Brigitte Pollet, Jean-Olivier Defraigne, Valérie B Schini-Kerth, and Joël Pincemail.
• Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Liège and CEDEVIT, Plant Biology Institute, Liège, Belgium.
• Nutrition. 2018 Jul 1; 51-52: 53-59.

ObjectivePolyphenol-rich products such as fruit juices have been found to have strong antioxidant capacities and to induce potent endothelium-dependent relaxation. We evaluated whether the commercial blackcurrant juices induced endothelium-dependent relaxation of isolated coronary arteries can be related to their antioxidant capacity and/or phenolic content.MethodsSix different commercial blackcurrant juices were selected. Their main phenolic compounds were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography and antioxidant capacity was evaluated by spectrometric methods. Vascular reactivity studies with these juices were done using isolated porcine coronary arteries.ResultsThe six different commercial blackcurrant juices induced relaxation ranging from 21% to 100% at the concentration of 0.5% volume per volume (v/v). The relaxation induced at 0.5% v/v was not correlated to their antioxidant capacity measured by either oxygen radical antioxidant capacity or DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assays and also not to the ascorbic acid, total polyphenols, total flavanols, and total phenolic acid contents. In contrast, the amplitude of the relaxation was correlated to the total anthocyanins content and the individual anthocyanin concentration.ConclusionsCorrelations between relaxation amplitude and total anthocyanin or individual anthocyanin contents are of interest for the development of functional blackcurrant beverages with the potential to promote vascular protection.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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