Enzymatic synthesis, structural characterization and antioxidant capacity assessment of a new lipophilic malvidin-3-glucoside-oleic acid conjugate

The chemical modification of anthocyanins (water-soluble pigments) into more lipophilic compounds is very important to expand their application in the food, medical and cosmetic industries. In this work, the synthesis of a pure malvidin-3-glucoside-oleic acid ester derivative was achieved by enzymatic catalysis. This approach allowed us to synthesize a novel compound, malvidin-3-O-(6 ''-oleoyl) glucoside (Mv3glc-OA), which was structurally characterized by mass spectrometry and for the first time by NMR spectroscopy. The enzymatic reaction revealed to be regioselective giving only one ester product. Antioxidant features of the malvidin-3-glucoside lipophilic derivative by means of DPPH, FRAP and lipid peroxidation assays were assessed, which confirmed that the structural modification of the genuine malvidin-3-glucoside into a more lipophilic compound did not compromise its antioxidant potential and protected more effectively a lipidic substrate from oxidation, which is an important insight for future technological applications.