Oxidation and enzymatic browning of food can affect nutritional quality, physical and chemical properties, and food safety, emphasizing the utmost importance of discovering new natural antioxidants and anti-browning agents. The present study aimed to characterize the antioxidant and anti-browning potential of 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives from the root bark of Morus alba Linn. All test compounds showed good antioxidant effects on non-enzymatic antioxidant assays. Only mulberrofuran H demonstrated potent inhibition against substrates l-tyrosine (IC50; 4.45 ± 0.55 µM) and l-DOPA (IC50; 19.70 ± 0.54 µM), indicating negative effects of the prenyl and geranyl groups in the other compounds. Molecular docking simulation predicted the involvement of an -OH group in the bulky substituent in C-11 in van der Waals interactions with copper ions (Cu400, Cu401) and peroxide ions (Per404) in the active site. Overall results characterize MH as an antioxidant and anti-browning agent, highlighting its potential role in food preservation.
Keywords: Anti-browning; Antioxidants; Arylbenzofurans; Food preservative; Morus alba.
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