Javier Echeverría^1*, Cristina Villa¹, Michelle Morales¹, Loreto Carrasco¹, Francisco A. Cubillos^2,3,4; Cesar Echeverría^5,6,7

javier.echeverriam@usach.cl

1-Departamento de Ciencias del Ambiente, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile. 2- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile. 3-ANID−Millennium Science Initiative−Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBIO), Santiago, Chile. 4-ANID-Millennium Nucleus of Patagonian Limit of Life (LiLi), Valdivia, Chile.5-Laboratorio de Biología molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó, Chile. 6-Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Agronomía, Universidad de Las Américas, Santiago, Chile. 7-Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas y Químicas, Universidad de Las Américas, Santiago, Chile.

The fruits, saps, and bulbs of native Chilean plants and fungi have been traditionally used by pre-Hispanic cultures for their medicinal and nutritional benefits. They are used in the production of jams, syrups, and fermented beverages. This research aimed to determine the chemical prof­­ile (using HPLC-DAD and UPLC-MS, along with TAC, TFC, and TPC analyses) of five species (Schinus areira L., S. latifolia (Gill. ex Lindl.) Engler, and S. polygama (Cav.) Cabrera [Anacardiaceae], Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baill. [Arecaceae], and Cyttaria espinosae Lloyd [Cyttariaceae]) before and after fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae EC1118, also assessing their antioxidant capacity (in vitro: DPPH, FRAP, CUPRAC, ABTS, and ORAC; and cellular antioxidant capacity assays), cytotoxicity (HUVEC and HepG2 cell lines), and their impact on digestive enzymes related to metabolic syndrome (α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and pancreatic lipase). The results showed that fermentation significantly increased TAC, TFC, and TPC values, improved DPPH, FRAP, CUPRAC, ABTS, and ORAC values, and inhibited ROS. The extract did not exhibit cytotoxicity in non-tumor HUVEC cells (IC₅₀ > 100 µg/mL) and showed antiproliferative activity against HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines. Enzymatic inhibition was moderate. These findings emphasize the bioactive potential of traditional fermented beverages made from Chilean native species and highlight their importance in nutritional and pharmacological uses.

Acknowledgements: This work was funded by the project FONDECYT Regular 1231492.

Keywords: Chilean fermented beverages, alcoholic fermentation, chemical profile, antioxidant capacity, enzymatic activity, metabolic syndrome

 
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