Quali-quantitative analysis of the phenolic fraction of the flowers of Corylus avellana, source of the Italian PGI product “Nocciola di Giffoni”: Isolation of antioxidant diarylheptanoids

Phytochemistry

Available online 29 June 2016

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• Milena Masullo^a,
• Angela Mari^a,
• Antonietta Cerulli^{a, b},
• Alfredo Bottone^a,
• Bogdan Kontek^c,
• Beata Olas^c,
• Cosimo Pizza^a,
• Sonia Piacente^{a, ,}

• ^a Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II n. 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
• ^b PhD Program in Drug Discovery and Development, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, I-84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
• ^c Department of General Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/3, 90-236 Lodz, Poland

Received 3 March 2016, Revised 11 May 2016, Accepted 18 June 2016, Available online 29 June 2016

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doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2016.06.007

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Highlights

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A LC-MS profile of the MeOH extract of the flowers of C. avellana, cultivar ‘Tonda di Giffoni’, was carried out.

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Three diarylheptanoids never reported before along with nine known flavonoid derivatives were isolated.

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A LC-ESI(QqQ)MS method for quantitative analysis of the main compounds was developed.

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The MeOH extract and most of the isolated compounds showed promising activity in the TBARS assay.

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Abstract

There is only limited information available on the chemical composition of the non-edible parts of Corylus avellana, source of the Italian PGI product “Nocciola di Giffoni” (hazelnut). An initial LC-MS profile of the methanolic extract of the male flowers of C. avellana, cultivar ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ led to the isolation of 12 compounds, of which the structures were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy. These were identified as three previously undescribed diarylheptanoids, named giffonins Q-S, along with nine known compounds. Furthermore, the quantitative determination of the main compounds occurring in the methanolic extract of C. avellana flowers was carried out by an analytical approach based on LC-ESI(QqQ)MS, using the Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) experiment. In order to explore the antioxidant ability of C. avellana flowers, the methanolic extract and the isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on human plasma lipid peroxidation induced by H₂O₂ and H₂O₂/Fe²⁺, by measuring the concentration of TBARS.

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Graphical abstract

Three diarylheptanoids named giffonins Q-S (10–12) along with nine known compounds were isolated from the MeOH extract of the flowers ofCorylusavellana, cultivar ‘Tonda di Giffoni’. The quantitative determination of the main compounds and the evaluation of their inhibitory effects on human plasma lipid peroxidation induced by H₂O₂and H₂O₂/Fe²⁺were carried out.

Keywords

• Corylus avellana;
• Betulaceae;
• Hazelnut;
• Flowers;
• Diarylheptanoids;
• LC-ESI(QqQ)MS;
• Multiple Reaction Monitoring;
• Antioxidant activity

Corresponding author.

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.