Phenolic, Flavonoid, and Lutein Ester Content and Antioxidant Activity of 11 Cultivars of Chinese Marigold

Abstract

This study analyzed 11 Chinese cultivars of marigold to determine their major phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities. Dried marigold flowers were extracted with ethanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane and the extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and chemical methods to determine their lutein esters, phenolic and flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity, respectively. The different cultivars of marigold showed considerable variations in their lutein ester contents, ranging from 161.0 to 611.0 mg/100 g of flower (dry basis). The lutein esters in marigolds consisted predominantly of six all trans-diesters, but small amounts of cis isomers of the respective diesters were also present. The different cultivars of marigold also showed marked variations in total phenols and flavonoids, as well as antioxidant and radical-scavenging activities. Ethanol was confirmed to be the best solvent for extracting both phenols and flavonoids from marigold flowers, while n-hexane was the worst. The ethanolic extracts also exhibited the highest antioxidant and radical-scavenging activities. The cultivar Xinhong had the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents and radical-scavenging activity, as well as one of the highest lutein contents and antioxidant activities.

Antioxidant activities and lutein content of 11 marigold cultivars (Tagetes spp.) grown in Thailand

“…'Columbus Drange' and 'Lunar Drange' showed the lowest total phenolic content. Li et al (2007) reported that TPC and antioxidant activity of the ethanol extracts of 11 cultivars of Chinese marigold, which showed higher TPC and ABTS values than those observed in this study. The low activity obtained in our study, may be due to the effect of prolonged drying time.…”

“…Synthetic methods have been developed for the production of lutein; however, the cost of production cannot compete with that of lutein isolation from marigold extracts (Fernández-Sevilla et al, 2010). Many studies have reported on the increase in the use of marigold extracts in functional food stuffs, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical industry (Li et al, 2007;Hojnik et al, 2008). To date, marigold petals have also been one of the main industrial sources for lutein production.…”

Effects of Dietary Lutein Sources on Lutein-Enriched Egg Production and Hepatic Antioxidant System in Laying Hens

“…Carotenoids such as lutein are an effective chain-breaking antioxidant because of their ability to quench singlet oxygen and scavenge peroxy radicals (Wang et al, 2006). However, there is a lack of information on the effects of dietary lutein on endogenous antioxidant enzymes in laying hens, although numerous in vitro studies have demonstrated that lutein has shown beneficial effects on antioxidant defense system against free radicals (Bhattacharyya et al, 2010;Hayes et al, 2009;Li et al, 2007). In agreement with our study, a dietary feeding of lutein in vegetable oils to rats increased lutein absorption, which in turn increased antioxidant enzymes, suggesting that lutein bioavailability might be a crucial factor that affects the antioxidant system in animals (Lakshiminarayana et al, 2009).…”

Enzyme-Assisted Oil Extraction of Lutein from Marigold (Tagetes erecta) Flowers and Stability of Lutein during Storage

“…In literature, the lutein content of marigold flowers is usually reported for dry weight, and it varies widely depending on the variety. Examples of reported lutein contents (per dry matter) for different varieties of Tagetes erecta are 0.77-14.4 mg/g (Khalil et al 2012), 1.61-6.11 mg/g (Li et al 2007), 0.18-3.0 mg/g (Piccaglia et al 1998), and 10.3-17.0 mg/g (Deineka et al 2007). Deineka et al (2007) also measured the lutein content for fresh weight, and it was 2.10-2.97 mg/g with approximately 5-6 fold difference to content per dry weight.…”