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- Nutraceuticals and functional foods for diabetes and obesity controlPublication . Spínola, Vítor Agostinho Rodrigues; Castilho, Paula Cristina Machado FerreiraThe aim of this work was to study the anti-diabetic potential of different berry-producing plants. Their mineral and phytochemical composition was studied by inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry analysis, respectively. A static model to simulate gastrointestinal digestion was employed to analyse the stability of phenolic compounds from targeted species. The mechanism of hypoglycaemic activity was evaluated in terms of in vitro inhibitory action on key digestive enzymes linked to type-2 diabetes (α-,β-glucosidases and α-amylase) and obesity (pancreatic lipase). Additionally, the inhibitory effect towards human aldose reductase and protein glycation, associated with long-term diabetic complications, was determined. The antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts was investigated using four different free radicals (ABTS•+, DPPH•, NO• and O2•-). Finally, the cytotoxicity of analysed species was assessed in Caco-2 cells by the resazurin reduction fluorescence method. Berry species proved to be good sources of essential minerals, some of which, are known to possess hypoglycaemic effects. Analysed extracts showed diverse phytochemical profiles, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols, flavan-3-ols and ellagitannins being the dominant compounds. Extracts showed a stronger inhibition towards glucosidases and were moderate inhibitors of α-amylase and pancreatic lipase. Potent inhibitory effects were observed in aldose reductase assay and towards formation of advanced glycation end-products. Additionally, good antioxidant activities were observed. Preliminary cytotoxicity measurements revealed that plant extracts can be considered safe for human consumption. The phenolic content and biological activities were substantially affected by the simulated in vitro digestion. Still, positive health effects were verified for digested samples. The generated data about these berry-producing plants and their potential effect on the management/control of type-2 diabetes and prevention of associated complications may be useful in designing future dietary/nutraceutical strategies aimed at alleviating hyperglycaemia.