Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Wisteria sinensis

Abstract

Wisteria is a plant species of the Fabaceae family with woody, flowering and climbing characteristics and has about 10 subspecies. Wisteria sinensis, abundant in Asian countries, is highly attractive for honey bees due to its blue-violet, fragrant flowers. The flowers of the plant are mixed with sugar and flour to make a local meal (Teng Lo) in the East Asian countries. Flowers can also be consumed as a tea. Wisteria sinensis have antioxidant and antibacterial properties. It is very rich plant in terms of polyphenols, saponins, flavones and lectins. Because of these properties, Wisteria sinensis can be used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, stomach and breast cancer diseases. In this study, antioxidant properties and phenolic composition of the flower, leaf and branch parts of Wisteria sinensis collected from Trabzon/Turkey were investigated. Antioxidant capacity and HPLC-UV phenolic composition were determined according to Ferric reduction capacity (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and total phenolic substance (TPC) methods. Flowers of the plant were rich in cinnamic acid, vanillic acid, rutin, daidzein and luteolin. Extracts obtained from leaf and branch part were found to be rich in epicatechin, rutin, luteolin and cinnamic acid. A high correlation between antioxidant capacity and its total phenolic contents indicated that phenolic compounds were a major contributor of antioxidant activity of the plant. Keywords : Wisteria sinensis, polyphenols, antioxidant capacity, phenolic composition DOI : 10.7176/JSTR/5-2-12