Antiangiogenic potential of yogurts added with extracts rich in apigenin derivatives

Angiogenesis is a biological process through which there is the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones [I]. However, in pathological cases, the abnormal growth of new blood vessels promotes the development of various diseases including cancer [2) through the production of atypically large amounts of angiogenesis factors, e.g. the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) [3]. The plant secondary metabolites have been the subject of several studies to evaluate their benefits to human health. In particular, the phenolic compounds have high potential for use in the food industry, including the development of functional foods. Among these, apigenin has been associated with chemopreventive effects related to cancer [4]. In fact, chemoprevention is a present-day concept and contemplates the use of medicines, biological compounds or nutrients as an intervention strategy of cancer prevention. In this work, an Arenaria montana L hydroethanolic extract was prepared and after characterization by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS showed to be rich in apigenin derivatives. Furthermore, it exhibited ability to inhibit the phosphorylation of VEGFR-2 (vascular endothelium growth factor receptor) through an enzymatic assay. However, for the major protection of bioactive compounds, the extract was microencapsulated by an atomization/coagulation technique with alginate as the matrix material. Posteriorly, the hydroethanolic extract, in free and microencapsulated forms, was incorporated in yogurts in order to develop a novel chemopreventer food in relation to the angiogenesis process. The functionalized yogurts with A. montana extracts (free and microencapsulated) showed a nutritional value similar to the used control (yogurt without extract); however, the samples enriched with extracts revealed added-value regarding the VEGFR-2 phosphorylation inhibition ability. This effect was more effectively preserved over time in the samples functionalized with the protected extract. Overall, this work contributes to the valorization of plants rich in flavonoids, exploring its antiangiogenic potential with VEGFR-2 as target. Moreover, the atomization/coagulation technique allowed the production of viable microspheres enriched with the plant extract. The microspheres were effectively incorporated into yogurts, protecting the extract thus envisaging the development of novel functional foods with chemopreventive effects.