Protective effect of wild raspberry (Rubus hirsutus Thunb.) extract against acrylamide-induced oxidative damage is potentiated after simulated gastrointestinal digestion.

Raspberry is well known as rich source of antioxidants, such as polyphenols and flavonoids. However, after consumption, the antioxidants are subjected to digestive conditions within the gastrointestinal tract that may result in structural and functional alterations. Our previous study indicated that acrylamide (AA)-induced cytotoxicity was associated with oxidative stress. However, the protective effect of wild raspberry extract produced before and after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion against AA-induced oxidative damage is unclear. In the present study, we found that wild raspberry extract produced after digestion (RD) had a pronounced protective effect against AA-induced cytotoxicity compared with that produced before digestion (RE). Further investigation indicated that RD significantly inhibited AA-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) collapse and glutathione (GSH) depletion. Moreover, LC-MS analysis revealed that wild raspberry underwent gastrointestinal digestion significantly increased the contents of esculin, kaempferol hexoside and pelargonidin hexoside.