La myrtille et l’airelle rouge, deux arbrisseaux de la famille des Ericacées, sont consommées comme des aliments, boissons et suppléments alimentaires pour leur valeur nutritionnelle et leur richesse en polyphénols antioxydants. Dans les plantes, la qualité et la quantité de composés phénoliques sont influencées par les parties morphologiques de la plante à utiliser. En particulier, les composés phénoliques des végétaux exercent leur activité antioxydante dans la protection des lipides alimentaires et le compartiment gastrique a été proposé comme le site majeur pour le stress oxydatif lié au régime alimentaire. L’objectif général de cette thèse était d’étudier les variations saisonnières des composés phénoliques d’extraits de feuilles, branches et fruits de la myrtille et de l’airelle rouge ainsi que l’activité antioxydante de ces extraits. Pour cette étude, des extraits aqueux et hydroéthanoliques (fruits uniquement) des échantillons collectés en mai, juillet et septembre pendant les années 2013-2014 ont été obtenus par extraction assistée par microondes.Les analyses qualitatives et quantitatives par UPLC / MS des extraits de la myrtille ont montré la présence de dérivés de l’acide caféique et de l’acide p-coumarique et des glycosides de flavonols dans les feuilles tandis que des oligomères de flavanols étaient aussi présents dans les branches, et ce dans des quantités élevées. La thioacidolyse a révélé de faibles degrés de polymérisation (2-4) et l’(-)-épicatéchine comme unité principale des flavan-3-ols. Il existe une très bonne corrélation entre la Somme des Composés phénoliques par UPLC et la Teneur en Polyphenols Totaux ou l’activité antioxydante dans le test DPPH, excepté pour les feuilles du mois de mai. Ces dernières sont relativement riches en dérives de l’acide p-coumarique. Les effets de la saison apparaissent plus marqués pour les feuilles qui présentent une plus grande activité antioxydante et teneur en polyphénols en juillet et septembre. Ces paramètres sont optimaux en juillet pour les branches de myrtille. La période de de cueillette peut être définie en fonction des structures phénoliques désirées.Dans l’airelle rouge, la présence prédominante de monomères et oligomères de flavanols et de glycosides de quercétine a été identifiée dans toutes les parties morphologiques. Les proanthocyanidines contiennent la (+)-catéchine et la (-)-épicatéchine comme unités d'extension et terminale. De plus, la teneur en polyphénols totaux (méthode de Folin, UPLC) a montré une augmentation légère mais significative de mai à septembre pour les feuilles et les branches. Cette augmentation a été confirmée pour l'activité antioxydante dans le test DPPH pour les feuilles et les branches en 2014.L’activité antioxydante des extraits de myrtille et d’airelle rouge lors de l’inhibition de l’oxydation lipidique (accumulation de diènes conjugués) a été évaluée dans des conditions in vitro simulant la digestion. Tout d'abord, l'inhibition de l’oxydation lipidique a été conduite sur des émulsions huile de tournesol-dans-eau stabilisées par la sérum albumine bovine (BSA) ou des phospholipides d’œuf (PL), qui simulent l’état physique des lipides alimentaires lors de la digestion gastrique. L’oxydation a été initiée par la metmyoglobine, une forme de fer apportée par la viande rouge. Dans les deux modèles d’émulsions, les extraits aqueux des branches et des feuilles et l’extrait hydroethanolique de fruit de myrtille sont des inhibiteurs plus efficaces de l'oxydation lipidique durant la première phase de digestion (pH 5) que durant la seconde phase (pH 3). D’autre part, un extrait de feuilles de myrtille a été testé dans un modèle complet de digestion in vitro statique (étapes orale, gastrique et intestinale). L'oxydation lipidique, rapide lors de la l’étape gastrique (systèmes BSA et PL) et puis plus lente lors de l'étape intestinale (système PL), a été totalement inhibée par l'extrait de feuilles de myrtille. / Bilberry and lingonberry, two shrubs of the Ericaceae family, are consumed as food, beverage and dietary supplements due to their nutritional value and richness in antioxidant polyphenols. In plants, the quality and quantity of phenolic compounds are influenced by the parts of the plant to be used. In particular, plant phenolic compounds provide antioxidant activity in the protection of dietary lipids from oxidation and the gastric compartment has been proposed as a major site for diet-related oxidative stress. The aim of this thesis is to simultaneously assess the seasonal variations of phenolic compounds in leaves, stems, and fruits of bilberry and lingonberry extracts, as well as their antioxidant activity. For this study, aqueous and hydroethanolic (only fruits) extracts of bilberry and lingonberry samples collected in May, July and September during the years 2013-2014 were obtained under microwave-assisted extraction.In bilberry extracts, qualitative and quantitative analyses by UPLC/MS showed the presence of caffeoyl derivatives, p-coumaroyl derivatives, and flavonol glycosides in leaves whereas in stems, flavanol oligomers were additionally identified in significant amounts. Thioacidolysis revealed low degrees of polymerization (2-4) and (-)-epicatechin as the main flavan-3-ol unit. The sum of the phenolic compounds by UPLC was highly correlated with the Total Polyphenol Content and the antioxidant activity in the DPPH test for all the extracts except those of May leaves. The latter were relatively richer in p-coumaric acid derivatives. Seasonal effects were more marked for leaves which exhibited higher antioxidant activities and phenolic contents in July and September when these parameters were maximum in July for bilberry stems. The harvest period can be refined based on the desired phenolic structures. For lingonberry, the predominant presence of monomers and oligomers of flavanols and quercetin glycosides was found in all the morphological parts. Proanthocyanidins contain (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin as both extension and terminal units. The sum of the phenolic compounds by UPLC was less correlated with the Total Polyphenol Content and the antioxidant activity in the DPPH test than in bilberry. Furthermore, the total phenolic content (Folin method, UPLC) showed a slight but significant increase from May to September for both leaves and stems. This increase was confirmed for the antioxidant activity by the DPPH test for both leaves and stems in 2014.The antioxidant activity of bilberry and lingonberry extracts against lipid oxidation (formation of lipid-derived conjugated dienes) was evaluated under in vitro simulated digestion conditions. Firstly, the inhibition of lipid oxidation was performed using sunflower oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by bovine serum albumin (BSA) or egg yolk phospholipids (PL), both emulsifiers mimicking dietary components. Oxidation was initiated by metmyoglobin, a form of dietary iron from red meat. In both emulsion models, aqueous extracts from stems and leaves and the hydroethanolic fruit extract of bilberry proved to be more efficient inhibitors of lipid oxidation in the early phase of digestion (pH 5) than during the second phase (pH 3). Secondly, a bilberry leaf extract was tested in the inhibition of lipid oxidation in a complete static in vitro digestion model (oral, gastric and intestinal phases). The fast lipid oxidation in the gastric step (BSA and PL systems) and the slower lipid oxidation in the intestinal step (PL system) were totally inhibited by the bilberry leaf extract.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / Restricted until May 2003. Bibliography: leaves 152-162.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniversit, 2008. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

The goals of this research project were to investigate aspects of pollination biology of two native boreal species: Vaccinium myrtilloides (Canadian blueberry) and Vaccinium vitis-idaea (lingonberry) in central Saskatchewan. Accordingly, surveys of insect taxa visiting the flowers were performed, and determination of the effectiveness of these insect taxa to serve as pollinators was measured through pollen deposition and pollen tube growth in the style. Accompanying fieldwork, and morphological and anatomical studies were done for the two food rewards offered by flowers of both Vaccinium species: pollen released through poricidal anthers and nectar secreted from the nectary atop the inferior ovary. Pollen-ovule (P/O) ratios were determined for the two study species in Saskatchewan (V. myrtilloides, V. vitis-idaea) as well as for five other Vaccinium species from eastern Canada (Nova Scotia – V. angustifolium, V. boreale, V. caespitosum, V. corymbosum, and V. uliginosum). Pollen, released at maturity as tetrads, were converted to total pollen grains per flower to yield P/O ratios ranging from 238 (V. caespitosum) to 2,008 (V. vitis-idaea), but 736 for the latter in Saskatchewan. These P/O ratios are indicative of a breeding system ranging from facultative autogamy to facultative xenogamy. Additionally, the structure of mature stamens and pollen tetrads was studied in V. myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea. Each anther was functionally bilocular; had a single-cell thickness (i.e., epidermis) with regularly occurring papillae; lacked an endothecium; and possessed two distal, hollow tubules each terminating in a pore. Overall pollen grain viability was 76-97% (V. myrtilloides) and 51-93% (V. vitis-idaea), with about 20% of tetrads having only 1-3 grains viable, and 12% and 27% of tetrads entirely non-viable in V. myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea, respectively. Pollen tetrads occasionally were connected by a sticky substance resembling pollenkitt, but viscin threads were absent. One instance of precocious (in situ) germination of tetrads was recorded within anthers of V. myrtilloides. The floral nectary was a disk of secretory tissue situated between the stamens and the style. The epidermis possessed solitary stomata that were variable in number, but not different between V. myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea. The nectary was vascularized by phloem alone; many traces were found for V. myrtilloides throughout the nectary, whereas V. vitis-idaea had few traces at the nectary base, concentrated at the inner side of the disk closest to the style base. Young sclerenchyma cells were found throughout the nectary parenchyma. Nectar production started on the day of anthesis for both species, although many flowers of V. vitis-idaea appeared to have no measureable nectar at that time. V. myrtilloides produced a larger range of nectar solutes per flower (0 - 3684.1 μg), than V. vitis-idaea iii (1.29 to 1147.62 μg) over both years; nectar volumes per flower never exceeded 5 μL. Nectar was measured daily in flowers aged 1 – 4 days in 2010 and 1 – 6 days in 2011, however, over the two years at the same study site there was no clear pattern of secretion and reabsorption throughout flower life for V. myrtilloides, and only a gradual increase for V. vitis-idaea as flowers aged. Insect visitors to flowers surveyed in 2010 included a large proportion of honeybees (Apis mellifera) as visitors to both species, whereas in 2011 there were no honeybees present at the field site. There was a larger proportion of hoverflies (Syrphidae) found on the flowers of V. vitis-idaea than on V. myrtilloides. Other visitors to V. myrtilloides were bees (Bombus, Andrena, Osmia, Colletes) and wasps (Vespidae), whereas flowers of V. vitis-idaea were visited by bees (Bombus, Andrena, Osmia, Lasioglossum, Colletes, Hylaeus), an ant (Formicidae) and a butterfly (Lycaenidae). Bombus spp. were shown to be pollinators of V. myrtilloides. Andrena spp. were probable pollinators, whereas honeybees appeared to be poor pollinators. Bombus spp. seemed probable pollinators of V. vitis-idaea and hoverflies to be barely more than visitors, though small sample sizes did not allow for conclusive evidence. The time that an insect spent on a virgin flower had no relationship to the pollination result. Among individuals of various Bombus spp. that did or did not sonicate flowers of V. myrtilloides, the action of “buzz pollination” was shown to result in an increase in the number of pollen tetrads deposited and in pollen tube growth.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

The seasonal changes in freezing resistance and water relations in four dwarf shrub species of Ericaceae family: Vaccinium vitis-idaea, V. myrtillus, V. uliginosum and Oxycoccus palustris in two study areas differing in altitude were studied in this work. To establish the freezing resistance, the plants were sampled eight times, to determine parameters of the water relations, the plants were sampled six times during the growing season of 2009. For the freezing resistance examination, ice nucleation temperature (exotherm) and 50 per cent lethal temperature (LT50) were found. The water relations were described using the parameters derived from the pressure-volume curves: osmotic potential at full turgor, osmotic potential at zero turgor, cytoplasmic water fraction, relative water content at turgor loss and bulk modulus of elasticity. An important seasonal variability in the freezing resistance was found. The highest levels of the freezing resistance were reached in the spring and in the autumn, the lowest levels were found in the summer. There were also changes in the used mechanisms of the freezing resistance - for most of the year, the plants were tolerant, they showed the avoidance mechanism only in the summer. The seasonal changes in the water relation parameter were less unambiguous. The most of...