Studies on the Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of a Prunus spinosa L. Aqueous Extract

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract obtained from the fruit of Prunus spinosa L.. The aqueous extract of 10% concentration was obtained from the pulp of dried fruits, harvested from Tulcea county, Romania. The tannin content was 3.38g % and the total polyphenols 6.95g %. Based on the HPLC analysis, the identified polyphenolic acids were chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and gallic acid and the concentrations in mg per 100g of fruit pulp powder were 15.174, 10.93 and 81.468, respectively. The 100 mg/mL aqueous extract had a high DPPH radical scavenger ability (87.30%) which correlated with the polyphenol content and supports the possibility of using rich bioactive aqueous extracts for oxidative stress related conditions.