Green and efficient extraction of polyphenols from the leaves of Quercus dentata Thunb and in vitro antioxidant activities of polyphenol extract

Abstract

The ultrasonic-coupled deep eutectic solvents method was firstly applied to extract phenolic compounds efficiently from the leaves of Quercus dentata Thunb. Five factors including type of deep eutectic solvent, water content, solid-liquid ratio, extraction time and extraction temperature were investigated based on total polyphenol content. The optimal extraction parameters were obtained through response surface methodology, that is, the deep eutectic solvent was composed of choline chloride and 1, 4-butanediol (molar ratio 1:2) with water content of 38%, the solid-liquid ratio was 1:30 g/mL, the extraction time was 31 min, the extraction temperature was 55 °C. At this condition, total polyphenol content reached the highest value of 78.56 ± 2.44 mg gallic acid/g. In addition, eleven phenolic compounds were identified by high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole/time-of flight mass spectrometry as flavonol glycosides. And then, the extraction showed good antioxidant activities in reducing transition metals (Fe3+, Cu2+, Mo6+) and scavenging free radicals (DPPH·, ABTS+·, O2−· and ·OH). Among them, the IC50 values of scavenging DPPH·, ABTS+·, O2−· and ·OH free radicals were 10.87 ± 0.25 μg mL−1, 8.04 ± 0.24 μg/mL, 149.47 ± 5.27 μg/mL and 131.73 ± 5.31 μg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, the extraction at the cellular level exerted its protective effect on PC12 cells by increasing the cell survival rate of H2O2-induced damaged cells, weakening the level of reactive oxygen species in damaged cells. Overall, this study provided a green and high-efficient strategy for extracting phenolic compounds with great antioxidant activities from Q. dentata leaves.