Abstract
Dried flower buds of Lonicera japonica and L. macranthoides have long been used as herbs in numerous Chinese traditional medicines. Comparisons of three phenolic fractions (i.e., free, esterified, and insoluble-bound phenolics) in three different organs (i.e., flower, leaf, and stem) of the two species revealed that the free phenolics were the highest in terms of total phenol and total flavonoid content, composed of the most numerous phenolics and flavonoids; thus, they exhibited the most excellent antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)), as well as protective effects on DNA damage induced by free radicals. In identical free and esterified phenolics of a same organ, higher contents and bioactivities were observed in L. macranthoides than in L. japonica. Phenolics identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector, alongside tandem mass spectrometry coupled with a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-DAD–QTOF-MS/MS) mainly included chlorogenic acid and its five derivatives, three flavonoids that were only found in the free phenolic fraction and closely correlated with its bioactivity, and caffeic acid that was the major contributor to antioxidant activity of the esterified and insoluble-bound phenolic fractions. It was, thus, concluded that, like L. japonica, L. macranthoides, which was underestimated since being separately listed by the 2010 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, is also a good (and better) herbal medicine.
Highlights
As one of the most important genera in the family Caprifoliaceae, many Lonicera species are widely recognized in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as for their use in health-promoting beverages and for the treatment of sores, acute fever, headache, carbuncles, acute rheumatoid arthritis, swelling, upper respiratory tract infections, diabetes, and throat inflammations [1]
The results show that extracts from three different organs of the two species possessed considerable antioxidant activity against different radicals, including DPPH, ABTS+, and peroxyl radicals
Compared with the activities of esterified and insoluble-bound fractions of phenolics, significantly stronger antioxidant activities of the free phenolics were obtained in each of the three organs, which is in accordance with their contents of total phenols and total flavonoids
Summary
As one of the most important genera in the family Caprifoliaceae, many Lonicera species are widely recognized in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as for their use in health-promoting beverages and for the treatment of sores, acute fever, headache, carbuncles, acute rheumatoid arthritis, swelling, upper respiratory tract infections, diabetes, and throat inflammations [1]. Chinese herbal tea “Jia Duo Bao”), which is why the market price of Jinyinhua is much higher than that of the four Shanyinhua, leading to the latter being discriminated against [2,3]. L. macranthoides, were widely cultivated in southern China and were used in processing a number of traditional Chinese medicines and beverages before the differential treatment by the 2010 edition. Such issues reflect an urgent need to investigate the biological activities of the Shanyinhua species for the purpose of their further promotion and application
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