"In different shades of purple": Effects of different concentrations of commercial black chokeberry fruit extract [Aronia melanocarpa (Michx) Elliott] on fitness components and wing morphology of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, 1830

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that bioactive compounds of fruits and vegetables reduce oxidative stress, thus having the beneficial effect of decreasing the risk of many human diseases. The aim of this in vivo study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx) Elliott fruit extract using Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, 1830 larvae. Study was done in the year 2016, in Department of Genetics of Populations and Ecogenotoxicology at the Institute for Biological Research, University of Belgrade. Simultaneously with treatments, co-treatments with the same concentrations of black chokeberry fruit extract mixed with a methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) were performed. Fitness traits and morphological characters were monitored. Flies fed on undiluted fruit extract, on MMS + undiluted fruit extract and on MMS, exhibited a prolonged developmental time, lower viability and negatively-impacted wing development. Positive biological effects were observed in flies that developed on substrates with 2 and 25% A. melanocarpa extract. Only a mixture of MMS + 25% fruit extract showed positive effects on both fitness components and wing development in comparison with other MMS co-treatments, indicating the ability of this concentration to protect the cells from MMS-induced damage.