Molecules 2012, 17(8), 9361-9378; doi:10.3390/molecules17089361
Article

Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Bulb Extracts of Six Lilium Species Native to China

Lei Jin 1 email, Yanlong Zhang 2,* email, Linmao Yan 2 email, Yulong Guo 2 email and Lixin Niu 1,* email
1 College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 2 College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 10 July 2012; in revised form: 24 July 2012 / Accepted: 25 July 2012 / Published: 3 August 2012
(This article belongs to the Section Natural Products)
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Abstract: Lily (Lilium) is used as an important edible and medical plant species with a vague taxonomic classification and a long history in China. Bulbs of six Lilium species (L. regale, L. concolor, L. pumilum, L. leucanthum, L. davidii var. unicolor and L. lancifolium) native to China were investigated with a view to their exploitation as a potential source of natural antioxidants due to their phenolic composition and dietary antioxidant potential. The results showed that all bulb extracts exhibited strong antioxidant activities, which generally correlated positively with the total phenolic contents (r = 0.68 to 0.94), total flavonoid contents (r = 0.51 to 0.89) and total flavanol contents (r = 0.54 to 0.95). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that rutin and kaempferol were the major phenolic components in the extracts. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that L. regale belonged to the group with high phenolic content and strong antioxidant power. L. concolor and L. pumilum were arranged in one group characterized by moderate phenolic content and antioxidant capacity, while L. leucanthum, L. davidii var. unicolor and L. lancifolium were clustered in the third group with low phenolic content and weak antioxidant activity. These strongly suggest that lily bulbs may serve as a potential source of natural antioxidant for food and pharmaceutical applications.
Keywords: Lilium; bulb; phenolic compounds; antioxidant activity

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Jin, L.; Zhang, Y.; Yan, L.; Guo, Y.; Niu, L. Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Bulb Extracts of Six Lilium Species Native to China. Molecules 2012, 17, 9361-9378.

AMA Style

Jin L, Zhang Y, Yan L, Guo Y, Niu L. Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Bulb Extracts of Six Lilium Species Native to China. Molecules. 2012; 17(8):9361-9378.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jin, Lei; Zhang, Yanlong; Yan, Linmao; Guo, Yulong; Niu, Lixin. 2012. "Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Bulb Extracts of Six Lilium Species Native to China." Molecules 17, no. 8: 9361-9378.

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