복숭아꽃 에탄올 추출물과 분획물의 in vitro 항산화 효과 및 RAW 264.7 대식세포에서의 항염증 효과

Abstract

Prunus persica Flos (PPF) were investigated for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities to find a natural functional food resource preventing degenerative diseases associated with excessive oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. PPF was extracted using ethanol (EtOH) and then sequentially fractioned by hexane (Hx), dichloromethane (DM), ethyl acetate (EA), n-butanol (BtOH), and water (DW). Contents of total phenolics and fla- vonoids, as well as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities were measured. Anti-inflammatory effects in terms of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (PG) E2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production were also measured using LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. EtOH extract showed relatively high antioxidant activity with high total phenolic (78.1 mg tannic acid/g) and flavonoid contents (55.3 mg rutin/g). EA fraction contained the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents (394.6 mg tannic acid/g, 253.7 mg rutin/g), followed by BtOH (128.3 mg tannic acid/g, 93.1 mg rutin/g). EA and BtOH fractions and EtOH extract showed higher DPPH radical and ABTS radical scavenging activities than the others (P<0.05). In LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages, EtOH extract (200 μg/mL) showed significantly reduced (P<0.05) NO, PGE2, and TNF-α production levels to 38.5%, 32.3%, and 48.9% of the control, respectively, as well as reduced iNOS and COX-2 protein expression. DM fraction (50 μg/mL) showed significantly reduced (P<0.05) NO, PGE2, IL-6, and TNF-α production levels to 43.5%, 13.3%, 38.7%, and 41.3% of the control, respectively, and EA fraction (50 μg/mL) showed significantly reduced NO, PGE2, IL-6, and TNF-α production levels to 44.8%, 22.4%, 45.7%, and 62.0% of the control, respectively. Taken together, EtOH extract of PPF showed potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and EA and BtOH fractions showed comparatively stronger antioxidant activities while DM and EA fractions showed stronger anti-inflammatory activities. It can be concluded that EtOH extract of PPF and its fractions are good candidates as natural resources for the develop- ment of anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory functional food products.