Screening of potential tropical fruits in protecting endothelial dysfunction in vitro

Abstract

Background: High consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables reduces the endothelial damage involved in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. Objective: To evaluate the phytochemical content, antioxidant and scavenging activities (FRAP, ORAC, OH^•, HOCl, H₂O₂, and O₂⁻), endothelial H₂O₂-cytoprotective effect, nitric oxide (NO) release activation potential, and endothelial wound healing properties of 10 tropical fruits, comprising pineapple, sugar apple, papaya fruit, longan, mangosteen, lychee, langsat, mango, rambutan, and guava. Design: Experimental study. The experiments were conducted in vitro using endothelial cell line EA.hy926. Results: The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of gallic acid and quercetin in all fruits, along with the overall absence of ellagic acid. Chlorogenic acid was only detected in three fruits, that is, pineapple, ripe papaya, and guava. The antioxidant and scavenging activities of all fruits were concentration-dependent. Only the H₂O₂ scavenging activity exhibited broad positive associations with other ROS-scavenging activities. Sugar apple and unripe papaya induced a significant reduction in H₂O₂-induced cell death in endothelial cells while pineapple, sugar apple, longan, and langsat activated NO release. Discussion: All the studied tropical fruits contained bioactive phytoantioxidants with wide ranges of antioxidant capacity and scavenging activities. The endothelial functional tests were relevant to the screening for fruits that may benefit cardiovascular health. Among the four fruits that promoted endothelial wound closure, only sugar apple and unripe papaya induced cell migration and vascular capillary-like tube formation. Conclusion: Sugar apple and unripe papaya are potential functional fruits that can protect against oxidative cell death and enhance endothelial wound healing.