ABSTRACT Seagrapes (Coccoloba uvifera) are widely consumed in Florida and the Caribbean. The edible berries are anecdotally reported to have antihypertensive and anti-asthmatic properties. The intense red/purple color of the ripe fruits indicates the presence of components containing chromophores with extended conjugation; these may potentially include anthocyanins or other polyphenolics. The crude seagrape berry extracts displayed significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in vitro at a concentration of 250 µg/mL. The crude methanolic extract displayed the COX-2 selectivity similar to the commercial standard Vioxx. The inhibition of lipid peroxidation of the hexane, ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts were 80%, 45%, and 77% respectively. The antioxidant activities of the three extracts were comparable to the commercially available antioxidants, butylated hydroxytoluene, butylated hydroxyanisole and tert-butylhydro-quinone. Cyanidin (1a), delphinidin (2a), malvidin (3a) and petunidin (4a) were identified from the methanolic extract by LCMS/MS analysis. This is the first report of these metabolites from Coccoloba uvifera (seagrapes).
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