Anti-apoptotic effects of high hydrostatic pressure treated cyanidin-3-glucoside and blueberry pectin complexes on lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in Caco-2 cells

To investigate whether complexes of cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) and blueberry pectin (BP) can exert protective effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced Caco-2 inflammatory cells, as well as the influence of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing on the activities of the complexes, for determining their anti-apoptosis in vitro. LPS-induced Caco-2 cells were treated with C3G-BP complexes with or without HHP treatment. Results showed that C3G-BP complexes (100-100 mu g/mL) inhibited the depolarization of mitochondria and reduced the production of ROS, as demonstrated by the reduced mRNA expression of IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, and IL-8; increased expression of IL-10; and reduced iNOS, COX-2, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-3 levels. These findings reveal that C3G-BP exerts anti-apoptosis effects by inhibiting several mediators and cytokines involved in the inflammatory process. Furthermore, HHP-treated C3G-BP complexes better reduced cell apoptosis than untreated complexes, owing to the high pressure-mediated alterations in the monosaccharide composition of the complexes. This study provides insights for the functional changes of anthocynin-pectin complexes during food processing applications.