Time-Dependent Degradation of Polyphenols from Thermally-Processed Berries and Their In Vitro Antiproliferative Effects against Melanoma

Polyphenols are natural occurring micronutrients that can protect plants from natural weathering and are also helpful to humans. These compounds are abundantly found in fruits or berries. Because of berry seasonal availability and also due to their rapid degradation, people have found multiple ways to preserve them. The most common options are freezing or making jams. Polyphenol stability, during processing is a continuous challenge for the food industry. There are also multiple published data providing that they are sensitive to light, pH or high temperature, vectors which are all present during jam preparation. In this context the aim of this study was to assess phytochemical composition and bioactive compounds degradation after jam preparation. We also monitored their degradation during storage time and their in vitro antiproliferative potential when tested on melanoma cells. The obtained results revealed that when processed and stored in time, the bioactive compounds from berries jams are degrading, but they still exert antioxidant and antiproliferative potential. Prior to LC-MS analysis, polyphenolic compounds were identified as: flavonoids (anthocyanins (ANT), flavonols (FLA)) and non-flavonoid (hydroxycinnamic acids (HCA) and hydroxybenzoic acids (HBA)). The most significant decrease was observed for HCA compared to other classes of compounds. This variation is expected due to differences in constituents and phenolic types among different analyzed berries.