BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AND PHENOLIC-FLAVONOID CONTENTS OF BILBERRY EXTRACTS

In this study, the petroleum ether, dichloromethane, methanol and hot water extracts were prepared from bilberry blooms. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of these extracts were determined as pyrocatechol and quercetin equivalents, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was investigated by using four methods including DPPH free radical and ABTS cation radical scavenging, beta-carotene bleaching and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays. The methanol extract showed the highest antioxidant activity in two assays. The anticholinesterase effect of the extracts was determined by using Ellman method via inhibition of acetyl-(AChE) and butyryl-cholinesterase (BChE) enzymes. The strongest inhibition against BChE was observed for the methanol extract. The antioxidant and anticholinesterase potential of bilberry bloom extracts was determined for the first time.