Isolation and Characterization of Blueberry Polyphenolic Components and Their Effects on Gut Barrier Dysfunction.

Highbush blueberries contain anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins that have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory bioactivities. We isolated and characterized three polyphenolic fractions, a total polyphenol fraction (TPF), an anthocyanin-enriched fraction (AEF), and a proanthocyanidin-enriched fraction (PEF), from freeze-dried blueberry powder and evaluated their effects on an model of gut barrier dysfunction. High-performance liquid chromatography chromatograms illustrate successful fractionation of the blueberry powder into TPF, AEF, and PEF.