Abstract
To better understand the mechanisms underlying the pharmacological actions of Salvia miltiorrhiza, correlation between the chemical profiles and in vitro antioxidant activities in 50 batches of wild S. miltiorrhiza samples was analyzed. Our ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis detected twelve phenolic acids and five tanshinones and obtained various chemical profiles from different origins. In a principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, the tanshinones cryptotanshinone, tanshinone IIA and dihydrotanshinone I exhibited higher weights in PC1, whereas the phenolic acids danshensu, salvianolic acids A and B and lithospermic acid were highly loaded in PC2. All components could be optimized as markers of different locations and might be suitable for S. miltiorrhiza quality analyses. Additionally, the DPPH and ABTS assays used to comprehensively evaluate antioxidant activities indicated large variations, with mean DPPH and ABTS scavenging potencies of 32.24 and 23.39 μg/mL, respectively, among S. miltiorrhiza extract solutions. Notably, samples that exceeded the mean IC50 values had higher phenolic acid contents. A correlation analysis indicated a strong correlation between the antioxidant activities and phenolic acid contents. Caffeic acid, danshensu, rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid and salvianolic acid B were major contributors to antioxidant activity. In conclusion, phenolic compounds were the predominant antioxidant components in the investigated plant species. These plants may be sources of potent natural antioxidants and beneficial chemopreventive agents.
Highlights
Many human disorders, such as coronary heart disease, inflammation, diabetes, carcinogenesis and neurodegenerative diseases, may result from increased concentrations of free radicals produced by numerous physiological and biochemical processes within the body [1,2]
The results described highlight that the phenolic acid contents in S. miltiorrhiza were consistent with the assessed antioxidant tests, and that phenolic acids strongly contributed to the antioxidant activities of the S. miltiorrhiza samples analysed in this study
The chemical compounds and in vitro antioxidant activities were determined simultaneously in 50 batches of wild S. miltiorrhiza samples collected from different locations in China
Summary
Many human disorders, such as coronary heart disease, inflammation, diabetes, carcinogenesis and neurodegenerative diseases, may result from increased concentrations of free radicals produced by numerous physiological and biochemical processes within the body [1,2]. Plants (vegetables, fruits, medicinal herbs) contain a wide variety of free radical-scavenging molecules, such as phenolic acids, Molecules 2018, 23, 538; doi:10.3390/molecules23030538 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules. Molecules 2018, 23, 538 flavonoids, quinones, alkaloids and betalains, which are rich in antioxidant activity [3,4]. Given their natural origins, plant-derived antioxidants are more beneficial than synthetic varieties, which were found to have undesirable secondary effects [5]. Two classes of major active compounds, namely tanshinones and phenolic acids, have been identified in S. miltiorrhiza. Both classes exhibit strong antioxidative activity and contribute to the clinical applications of danshen. Tanshinones, which mainly comprise tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone, have been reported to improve blood circulation [8]
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