Antioxidative Effect of Extracts from Poncirus trifoliata Immature Fruits

Abstract

This study aims to provide a basic understanding of some of the functional properties and antioxidative effect of water (PTW) and ethanol (PTE) extracts from Poncirus trifoliata immature fruits for the development of functional material. For the total flavonoid and polyphenol compound contents, PTW was 4.66 mg/g and 42.63 mg/g, while PTE was 15.79 mg/g and 21.85 mg/g, respectively. The PTW showed the highest superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity of 71.43% and PTE was 59.42% at 2.0 mg/mL. The electron donating abilities of PTW and PTE were over 90% at 1.0mg/mL, representing an excellent activity compared to the ascorbic acid (88.89%). The nitrite scavenging ability of PTW was 95.23% at pH 1.2 and 78.59% at pH 3.0. As a result, PTW had higher values of polyphenol content, the electron donating ability and the nitrite scavenging ability than ascorbic acid. This results suggest that PTW is a potentially useful antioxidant source for the development of functional healthy product, medicine, and cosmetic products.