Abstract
Abstract Ginkgo biloba leaves are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Owing to its wide distribution across China with varying geographical environments and climatic characteristics, G. biloba leaf products have different active ingredients and degrees of activities, which poses a challenge for quality control and standardization. We aimed to identify the key factors contributing to the quality of G. biloba based on assessment of anti-aging and antioxidative components. G. biloba leaf samples collected from 14 different regions in China were analyzed for antioxidant activities by the 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical scavenging assay, and the levels of terpene lactones and flavonoids were quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography. Correlation analysis attributed the antioxidant activity of G. biloba leaf samples of different origins to isoginkgetin and ginkgetin, which also affected the matrix metalloproteinase-1 levels of fibroblasts, determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Therefore, appropriate quality control of a collected G. biloba sample could be achieved by determining the levels of isoginkgetin and ginkgetin as anti-aging and antioxidant components. The results further provide a foundation for the application of G. biloba leaves as an antioxidant raw material.
Highlights
Ginkgo biloba L. is a large tree with an estimated age of at least 200 million years (Editorial Committee of Chinese Flora of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1978)
Experiments with fibroblasts have shown that G. biloba leaf extracts inhibited induction of the pro-inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1, IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by UVB exposure through the inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, p38 protein, and reactive oxygen species in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, which inhibit the increase of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) (Chen et al, 2014)
UPLC-MS/MS analysis of lactones in the 14 G. biloba leaf samples showed some differences in the levels of rutin (1), quercetin-3-O-β-glucoside (2), kaempferol-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (3), isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside (4), myricetin (5), apigenin (6), isoginkgetin (7), ginkgetin (8), ginkgolide A (9), ginkgolide B (10), ginkgolide C (11), ginkgolide J (12), and bilobalide (13)
Summary
Ginkgo biloba L. is a large tree with an estimated age of at least 200 million years (Editorial Committee of Chinese Flora of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1978). The components of G. biloba leaves are complex and the most relevant components responsible for its well-established antioxidant activity remain unclear To clarify these issues, in the present study, we collected G. biloba leaves from 14 different areas of China, which were quantitatively analyzed for five terpene lactones and eight flavonoids along with comparison of the antioxidant activity of the samples. In the present study, we collected G. biloba leaves from 14 different areas of China, which were quantitatively analyzed for five terpene lactones and eight flavonoids along with comparison of the antioxidant activity of the samples These results can help to identify consistent markers of antioxidant activity despite geographical and environmental variation, which can be used for quality control of G. biloba and to potentially enhance the antioxidant activity of the leaves as a functional food
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