Molecules 2012, 17(2), 1686-1697; doi:10.3390/molecules17021686
Article

Phytochemical and Antioxidant-Related Investigations on Bark of Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach. from Nepal

Stefano Dall’Acqua 1 , Paola Minesso 1 , Bharat Babu Shresta 2 , Stefano Comai 1 , Pramod Kumar Jha 2 , Mohan Bikram Gewali 3 , Emanuela Greco 4 , Rinaldo Cervellati 4  and Gabbriella Innocenti 1,* email
1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, Padova 35121, Italy 2 Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal 3 Central Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal 4 Department of Chemistry “G. Ciamician”, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 23 January 2012; in revised form: 7 February 2012 / Accepted: 8 February 2012 / Published: 8 February 2012
(This article belongs to the Section Natural Products)
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Abstract: The bark of several coniferous species, a waste product of the timber industry, contains significant amounts of natural antioxidants. In our ongoing studies of Nepalese medicinal plants, we examined the bark from Abies spectabilis as the starting material for extracting antioxidant compounds. In vitro antioxidant activity evaluated by means of three antioxidant methods, namely 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Briggs-Rauscher oscillating reaction (BR) and Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and total phenol contents with the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent; the ferrous iron chelating capacity was also assessed. The methanol extract of A. spectabilis showed significant antioxidant activity and polyphenol contents (IC50 4.13 µg/mL, 0.20 μg/mL eq. resorcinol, 4.22 mM eq. Trolox, 3.9 µg/g eq. gallic Acid in the DPPH, BR, TEAC and Folin-Ciocalteau tests, respectively) and weak Fe2+ chelating capacity. Phytochemical studies were also carried out with 1D- and 2D NMR experiments and DI-ESI-MS, HPLC-DAD and LC-MSn measurements. Oligomeric C-type proanthocyanidins, mainly trimeric gallocatechin derivatives, were the most abundant compounds (16% of extract expressed as procyanindin B1). Gallocatechin oligomers (up to six units) and prodelphynidin-gallocatechin polymers were also identified in the extract. Prodelphynidin B4, cyclograndisolide and trans-docosanil ferulate were also isolated and characterized by NMR and MS spectroscopy.
Keywords: Abies spectabilis; HPLC-MS/MS; NMR; phenols; antioxidant activity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Dall’Acqua, S.; Minesso, P.; Shresta, B.B.; Comai, S.; Jha, P.K.; Gewali, M.B.; Greco, E.; Cervellati, R.; Innocenti, G. Phytochemical and Antioxidant-Related Investigations on Bark of Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach. from Nepal. Molecules 2012, 17, 1686-1697.

AMA Style

Dall’Acqua S, Minesso P, Shresta BB, Comai S, Jha PK, Gewali MB, Greco E, Cervellati R, Innocenti G. Phytochemical and Antioxidant-Related Investigations on Bark of Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach. from Nepal. Molecules. 2012; 17(2):1686-1697.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dall’Acqua, Stefano; Minesso, Paola; Shresta, Bharat Babu; Comai, Stefano; Jha, Pramod Kumar; Gewali, Mohan Bikram; Greco, Emanuela; Cervellati, Rinaldo; Innocenti, Gabbriella. 2012. "Phytochemical and Antioxidant-Related Investigations on Bark of Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach. from Nepal." Molecules 17, no. 2: 1686-1697.

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