Black and red currant pomace extracts – characterization and biosafety assessment using sustainable methods

Abstract

As part of our research, our team focused, on the one hand, on finding innovative solutions for the valorization of some by-products from the food industry [1] and, on the other hand, on the use of sustainable methods for the characterization and biosafety screening of plant-based extracts [2]. Therefore, the present study aims to conduct in vivo investigation on black and red currant berries pomace extracts using Allium cepa assay. In this view, aqueous and hydroethanolic extractions from black and red currant pomaces were carried out. The obtained extracts were characterized using rapid, efficient and easy-to-operate analytical methods such as electrometry, colorimetry and UV-Vis spectrometry. Further, biosafety assessment of pomace extracts was performed using sustainable method, namely Allium cepa test, by scoring the mitotic index and chromosomal aberrations. Following the microscopic evaluation of onion meristematic cells exposed to the tested pomace extracts, different stages of mitotic division and several types of chromosomal aberrations were observed. Both the type of pomace and the experimental extraction conditions influenced the cytogenetic response of the investigated extracts. Overall, the present study allowed to obtain reliable results using rapid, easy-to-handle environmental friendly methods and to conclude that black and red currant pomace extracts can be safely used for potential therapeutic purposes.