Abstract
Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) has long been used as a food source and ingredient for traditional herbal remedies. Plant parts contain neuroprotective agents that interact with specific targets to inhibit Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Organic solvents including methanol, ethyl acetate, hexane, and n-butanol, are widely employed for extraction of sacred lotus but impact food safety. Seed embryo, flower stalk, stamen, old leaf, petal, and leaf stalk of sacred lotus were extracted using hot water (aqueous extraction). The extractions were analyzed for their bioactive constituents, antioxidant and anti-AD properties as key enzyme inhibitory activities toward acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and β-secretase 1 (BACE-1). Results showed that the sacred lotus stamen exhibited significant amounts of phenolics, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, that contributed to high antioxidant activity via both single electron transfer (SET) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) mechanisms, with anti-AChE, anti-BChE, and anti-BACE-1 activities. To enhance utilization of other sacred lotus parts, a combination of stamen, old leaf and petal as the three sacred lotus plant components with the highest phenolic contents, antioxidant activities, and enzyme inhibitory properties was analyzed. Antagonist interaction was observed, possibly from flavonoids–flavonoids interaction. Further in-depth elucidation of this issue is required. Findings demonstrated that an aqueous extract of the stamen has potential for application as a functional food to mitigate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Highlights
Nelumbo nucifera or sacred lotus in the Nymphaeceae family is a flowering perennial aquatic plant that grows extensively in Southeast Asia
Previous data suggested that sacred lotus extracted by organic solvents may delay Alzheimer’s disease (AD) onset; using organic solvents such as methanol, hexane, or toluene for food applications is undesirable
Results indicated that the sacred lotus extracts contained phenolic acids, including gallic acid, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid, and flavonoids, including naringenin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, kaempferol, luteolin, myricetin, cyanidin, and delphinidin, in different amounts, depending on each sacred lotus plant part
Summary
In Thailand, the sacred lotus has cultural importance as spiritual a symbol in Buddhism, and economic importance as ornamentation and horticulture to generate income. This aquatic plant is consumed as food and has wide-ranging uses as a folk medicine [2]. Various parts of the sacred lotus including leaves, flowers, stamens, embryos, and rhizomes were previously reported to promote health benefits [3,4,5,6,7] These medicinal applications are the results of high health-promoting compounds, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids [3,4,5,6,7]
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