蔓越莓具有高抗氧化性及生物活性，包括抗癌、預防心血管疾病、預防泌尿道感染、預防胃潰瘍等功效，頗受消費者矚目。蔓越莓含有豐富的酚類化合物，本研究針對蔓越莓中酚類化合物之儲存安定性及其對黃斑部病變之影響進行探討。結果顯示，蔓越莓中的酚類化合物含量會隨儲存時間而下降，其中以游離態quercetin之安定性最佳，總類黃酮及前花青素則其次，在總酚類化合物之安定性最差。而在其乙酸乙酯萃取物中，以含縮合單寧區分物之抗氧化能力最好。在細胞實驗中，利用藍光(波長為450nm)照射誘使人類視網膜色素上皮細胞株(ARPE-19細胞)受損的試驗模式可知，蔓越莓中之縮合單寧區分物具有修復人類眼球上皮細胞損害的功效，而又以含寡縮合單寧區分物（oligomeric condensed tannin）之效果較佳。由本研究結果可知，蔓越莓可能具有清除自由基以及修復人類眼球上皮細胞損害的功效，進而預防因自由基所誘發之黃斑部病變之發生。
Cranberry shows high antioxidation and biological activities, including anticancer, prevention of cardiovascular disease, prevention of urinary tract infection, prevention of gastric ulcer and so on. Cranberry contains abundant phenolics. Thus this study was focused on the storage stability of phenolics in cranberry and its effect on age-related macular degeneration（AMD）. The results showed that the phenolics in cranberry would reduced. The free quercetin showed the best stability. And the flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were the second. The total phenolics showed the worst stability. In the ethyl acetate extract of cranberry, the condensed tannin containing fraction showed the best antioxidant activity. In the cell experiments, the model of damaged ARPE-19 cells irradiated by blue light （450nm）showed that the condensed tannin containing fraction in cranberry could repair the damaged ARPE-19 cells irradiated by blue-light. Moreover, the oligomeric condensed tannin containing fraction showed the best efficiency. In conclusion, this study clearly showed that cranberry could scavenge free radicals and cause good efficiency on repairing ARPE-19 cells. This probably showed that cranberry could prevent the age-related
macular degeneration causing by free radicals.
