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Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis , Niš , Serbia
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Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis , Niš , Serbia
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Institute for Medicinal Plants Research “dr Josif Pančić”, Institute for Medicinal Plants Research “dr Josif Pančić” , Belgrade , Serbia
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Institute for Medicinal Plants Research “dr Josif Pančić”, Institute for Medicinal Plants Research “dr Josif Pančić” , Belgrade , Serbia
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Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis , Niš , Serbia
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Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis , Niš , Serbia
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis , Niš , Serbia
Aronia melanocarpa (chokeberry, aronia) is rich in polyphenols and associated with vascular protective effects; however, comparative data on different aronia-derived products and their mechanisms remain limited. This study aimed to compare the vasorelaxant effects of aronia berry extract (AE), aronia waste extract (AWE), and aronia juice (AJ), and to investigate their underlying mechanisms. Preparations from organically grown berries (western Serbia) were chemically characterized using spectrophotometric methods and HPLC. Vasorelaxant activity was assessed in isolated thoracic aorta rings from Wistar rats precontracted with potassium chloride (KCl) or phenylephrine (PE). All preparations induced concentration-dependent relaxation. In KCl-precontracted rings, AE showed the greatest potency (EC₅₀ = 0.97 ± 0.02 mg/mL), followed by AJ (1.74 ± 0.08 mg/mL) and AWE (1.95 ± 0.12 mg/mL). In contrast, under PE-induced contraction, AWE exhibited the highest activity (EC₅₀ = 0.58 ± 0.07 mg/mL), followed by AJ (0.96 ± 0.06 mg/mL) and AE (1.27 ± 0.11 mg/mL). Pre-incubation with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME significantly attenuated relaxation responses, increasing EC₅₀ values for AWE (0.59 ± 0.03 to 2.37 ± 0.01 mg/mL), AE (0.92 ± 0.01 to 4.38 ± 0.05 mg/mL), and AJ (0.95 ± 0.02 to 2.78 ± 0.03 mg/mL) (p < 0.01), indicating a key role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide. These findings demonstrate that aronia-derived products, including processing waste, exert potent NO-mediated vasorelaxant effects and may represent promising functional ingredients for improving vascular function. Further clinical studies are warranted to confirm these effects in humans.
Conceptualization, M.M., S.B. and D.K.; Data curation, M.M.; Formal Analysis, M.M.; Investigation, M.M., N.Ć.N., M.R. and B.M.; Methodology, M.M., S.B. and N.Ć.N.; Software, M.M., M.R. and B.M.; Validation, M.M., S.B., K.Š. and D.K.; Visualization, M.M.; Writing – original draft, M.M.; Writing – review & editing, M.M., S.B. and D.K.; Supervision, S.B. and K.Š.; Funding acquisition, D.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This research was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (grant numbers 451-03-34/2026-03/200113 and 451-03-33/2026-03/200003).
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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