Polyphenolic Content and Physiological Activities of Chinese Hawthorn Extracts

Abstract

Hawthorn polyphenol (HP) was prepared by ethyl acetate treatment of the ethanol extract (HE) of Chinese hawthorn fruit. The concentrations of 15 polyphenols in the HP, HE, extraction residue (HJ), and a hawthorn leaf extract (HF) were determined by HPLC. For HP, the total content of the 15 polyphenols was 21.4%, comprised of 19.7% of procyanidins, 1.21% of chlorogenic acid, and 0.48% of flavonoids, compared to 2.55% for the HE. The yields of procyanidin monomer, dimer, trimer, tetramer, and pentamer were 50.5%, 30.3%, 23.0%, 14.6%, and 12.5% respectively, and the mean degree of polymerization was reduced to 1.39 (HP) from 1.65 (HE). Seven different physiological actions of the four extracts were investigated. The HP showed strong O₂⁻ and ^•OH scavenging capacities (IC₅₀ values of 6.3 μg/ml and 1.1 μg/ml respectively), as well as selective prolyl endopeptidase inhibition (IC₅₀ of 60 μg/ml). The active constituents appeared to be procyanidins.