Blackberries are a widely used fruit in the human diet due to their organoleptic properties and high content of phytocompounds (such as flavonoids, ellagitannins, anthocyanins) with a beneficial effect on cardiometabolic disorders, which the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes as the leading global causes of mortality. Serbia is the largest European and one of the leading global producers of blackberries, right after the USA, China and Mexico. The cultivation and processing of this fruit generates large amounts of agricultural waste, which is most often incinerated or disposed of in local landfills, where it remains unused, causing under-exploitation and economic losses.
In order to offer a solution to this problem, the BlackCeuticals project aims to use blackberry waste (pruning residues and pomace) of the most common varieties in Serbian orchards 'Čačanska Bestrna', 'Thornfree' and 'Loch Ness' as raw materials for the further production of value-added nutraceuticals with a preventive effect on metabolic syndrome (MetS). In order to implement the set tasks, the BlackCeuticals project brought together researchers from the Faculty of Biology (FBUB), the Faculty of Pharmacy (FPUB) and the Institute for Medical Research (IMI) of the University of Belgrade and the Department of Nutrition of the University of California, Davis (UC DAVIS).
Researchers from FPUB will play a role in the preparation of extracts containing the highest amounts of bioactive compounds using an optimized extraction method, their chemical characterization using LC-DAD-ESI-MS and fractionation. Researchers from FBUB will investigate in vitro antioxidant (DPPH, BCB and FRAP) and inhibitory activity of enzymes involved in inflammation, diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The preventive effect of the selected extract on MetS will be assessed by researchers from IMI in an intervention study in rats by measuring relevant hematological, biochemical and oxidative stress and inflammation parameters. In order to gain better insight into the possible mechanism of action, researchers from UC DAVIS will examine the effect of blackberry extract on the composition of the gut microbiota, intestinal permeability and genome expression in the pancreas, liver and adipose tissue.
The expectations from the results of this project are to develop an innovative formulation of nutraceuticals with added value that would help combat MetS as a growing global problem, as well as to encourage future clinical and observational human studies, but also to obtain valuable guidelines for the optimal use of blackberry waste.