Comparative evaluation of the antioxidant effects of the natural vitamin C analog 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid isolated from Goji berry fruit

Abstract

2-O-β-D-Glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid (AA-2βG) is a natural derivative of vitamin C (Lascorbic acid, AA) isolated from Goji berry (Lycium barbarum L.) fruit. We evaluated the antioxidant activities of AA-2βG and AA using in vitro and in vivo model systems. In vitro radical scavenging assays demonstrated that AA-βG was capable of scavenging 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl and hydroxyl peroxide and inhibiting H(2)O(2)-induced hemolysis better than AA. AA-2βG and AA had similar hydroxyl radical scavenging capabilities, but AA-2βG was incapable of scavenging superoxide anion radicals, and its capacity to scavenge nitrite (NO(2) (-)) was lower than that of AA. The overall in vitro reduction capability of AA-2βG was also significantly lower than that of AA. Moreover, in vivo studies demonstrated that AA-2βG was capable of protecting the liver against carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in mice. These results suggest that AA-2βG is an important antioxidant component of Goji berry fruit, which may share similar but distinct antioxidant mechanistic properties with AA. This study furthers our understanding of the mechanisms of Goji berry fruit pharmacological activities on antiaging and antitumor properties as a traditional medicine and dietary supplement.

PlantCrystals—Nanosized Plant Material for Improved Bioefficacy of Medical Plants

“…The AOC of this aqueous plant mix extract was about 3-fold higher when compared to equal amounts of ascorbic acid and was about 5-fold higher when compared to the unprocessed plant mix bulk suspension, thus proving that the plant mix contained high amounts of water-soluble antioxidants which were released during the preparation tea and without the need for diminution of the plant material by HSS or BM ( Figure 11 ). Literature proves that the traditional plant mixture contains extremely high amounts of water-soluble antioxidants, mainly ascorbic acid and its derivatives derived from the goji berries and the red dates and polyphenols, e.g., epigallocatechin, from jujube and the jasmine tea [ 28 , 29 ].…”

Short‐term treatments with high CO2 and low O2 concentrations on quality of fresh goji berries (Lycium barbarum L.) during cold storage

“…Goji berries are a good source of vitamin C since they contain substantial concentrations of vitamin C and 2-O--D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid, a novel stable vitamin C analog, acting as provitamin C, a biologically active component. 4 Concerning changes in vitamin C, as the sum of AsA and dehydroascorbic acid, low temperature and modified atmospheres usually result in its better retention, 23 although, in some cases, high CO 2 (10-30%) either increased vitamin C loss 24 or lowered the increases after harvest, 25 possibly owing to stimulation of AsA oxidation or inhibition of mono-or dehydroascorbic acid reduction to AsA. 25 Here the AsA concentration in controls was approximately 0.30 g kg −1 at harvest (Table 1) without significant differences up to the end of storage.…”

“…Recent studies showed beneficial effects of goji berry consumption on disease prevention and general well‐being . These effects are attributed mainly to the antioxidant properties of carotenoids, polyphenols and ascorbic acid and to polysaccharides with immunomodulatory and antioxidant activities . Carotenoids comprise 0.03–0.5% of dried goji berries, with zeaxanthin dipalmitate making up one‐third to one‐half of total carotenoids …”

NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES AND ADVERSE EFFECTS OF “GOJI BERRY” - (Lycium barbarum L.)

“…Dessa forma, poder-se-ia pensar que, um análogo ou um derivado do tradicional AA seria uma forma de suprir essa necessidade terapêutica. (BÄCHTOLD, 2013;ZHANG et al, 2011) Um estudo realizado por ZHANG et al (2011) pela Universidade de Ningxia na China, serviu para elucidar os efeitos antioxidantes desse análogo de AA em comparação com o ácido ascórbico natural. (ZHANG et al, 2011) Neste caso, um análogo do AA, com características de pró-vitamina C, foi recentemente descoberto na fruta Lycium barbarum L. Esse análogo de maior peso …”

“…Pelo fato do AA ser instável, sua absorção se torna rápida, porém sua capacidade de armazenamento fica prejudicada e, consequentemente, seu uso terapêutico. No entanto, o AA-2βG é mais estável que o AA, surgindo assim uma nova possibilidade para o uso medicinal da Lycium barbarum L. (ZHANG et al, 2011;AMAGASE & FARNSWORTH, 2011) Outra propriedade de interesse é a presença do carotenoide zeaxantina, que se encontra em evidência em relação a outras fontes vegetais. (BORGUINI et al, 2012) A "goji berry", de acordo com o estabelecido na Resolução n° 16/1999, é enquadrada como um novo produto, visto que é um alimento que não é conhecido no Brasil, mas com um histórico de consumo em outro país.…”