Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Spireaea nipponica

Abstract

Spiraea nipponica is a plant belongs to the Rosaceae family. There are nearly one hundred species of spiraea plant. It can get longer as tall as 1.5 to 3 m. The color of the flowers differ in species as white, red, pink and yellow. The leaf of the plant fall in winter season. Spiraea nipponica which blossomed early spring flowers without its leaf and the branch of the plant are seen as if they were covered in snow. That is why Spiraea nipponica is named as snow mound. In traditional medicine, root, leaf and fruit of the plant have been used as diuretic, analgesic and antitussive. Additionally, because of its essential oils the plant has antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Spiraea nipponica is the most abundant spiraea species in nature. In this study, methanolic extracts of flower, leaf and branch of the plant were prepared and antioxidant capacity of these extracts were studied by using ferric reduction capacity (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods. Total polyphenol concentration of extracts were determined by Folin- Ciocalteu method and Gallic acid as standard. Polyphenolic composition of the extracts were examined by HPLC-UV method as well. The flowers of S. nipponica were rich in vannilic acid, cinnamic acid, rutin and luteolin. A high correlation between antioxidant capacity and its total phenolic contents indicated that phenolic compounds were a major contributor of antioxidant activity of the plant.

Keywords: Spiraea nipponica, polyphenols, antioxidant capacity, phenolic composition

DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/5-2-10