Comparative study of chemical compositions and antioxidant activities of Zhizi fruit extracts from different regions

Ya-Fang Shang; Yi-Ge Zhang; Heng Cao; Yi-Long Ma; Zhao-Jun Wei

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02853

Comparative study of chemical compositions and antioxidant activities of Zhizi fruit extracts from different regions

Heliyon. 2019 Dec 9;5(12):e02853. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02853. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Authors

Ya-Fang Shang^{1

2}, Yi-Ge Zhang¹, Heng Cao¹, Yi-Long Ma¹, Zhao-Jun Wei¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China.
² Postdoctoral Workstation of Chuzhou University, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou, 239000, China.

Abstract

The fruits of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis are folk medicines in China and their major components are geniposide and water soluble pigment crocins. This study compared the chemical profiles and free radical scavenging activities of two Zhizi species from five provinces of China, including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Sichuan and Henan. The results showed that Jiangxi Zhizi contained higher levels of volatiles (71.84%), crocins (20.38 mg/g), geniposide (31.36 mg/g) and flavonoids (84.42 μg quercetin/mg) than four other Zhizi fruits; whereas Hunan Zhizi provided higher total phenolics (33.81 μg catechin/mg) and ABTS/DPPH radical scavenging activities. These findings implied that Jiangxi Zhizi would be suitable for extraction of gardenia yellow and geniposide, as well as preparation of essential oil. This information may provide valuable guidance for application of Zhizi fruits to biomedicine industry in China.

Keywords: Active components; Antioxidative activities; Different regions; Food analysis; Food chemistry; Food composition; Food engineering; Food processing; Food science; Food technology; Gardenia jasminoides; Volatiles.