Phenolic Content and
Antioxidant Activities of Fruit Extracts of Morus
nigra L (Moraceae) from Southeast Serbia
Danijela A Kostić1,
Danica S Dimitrijević1*, Snežana S Mitić1,
Milan N Mitić1, Gordana S Stojanović1
and Ana V Živanović2
1Department of
Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics,
University of Nis, Visegradska 33, 18 000 Nis, Serbia,
2School of Chemistry, Wollongong, Wollongong
NSW, 2500, Australia
*For
correspondence: Email: danicadimitrijevic7@gmail.com
Tel: +381
66 939 1069
Received: 10 March
2012
Revised accepted:
26 November
2012
Tropical Journal of
Pharmaceutical Research, February 2013; 12(1):
105-110
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v12i1.17
Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate the content of
phenolic compounds (flavonoids and anthocyanins) of
Morus nigra L. fruit (black mulberry) as well as the
antioxidant activities of its extracts.
Methods:
The contents of phenols,
flavonoids and anthocyanins of the ethanol,
ethanol-water (50/50,v/v) and water extracts of black
mullbery were determined using spectrophotometric
methods. Antioxidant assay was based on the measurement
of
2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) absorbance at 517 nm
caused by the reaction of DPPH with the test sample, and
also on the measurement of
2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) absorbance at 734 nm
caused by the reaction of ABTS with the test sample.
Results:
Spectrophotometric analysis
indicates that the content of total phenol compounds in
the extracts varied from 90.26 to 118.84 mg GAE/100 g of
fresh mulberry fruit. The content of anthocyanins ranged
from 114.83 to 128.68 mg of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside/100 g
of fresh fruit (ff). The fruit extract (0.1 ml) showed
high antioxidant activity with DPPH radical
transformation value of 71.41 % in ethanol-water (50/50,
v/v)) extract and good antioxidant activity (relative to
trolox equivalent as standard) with ABTS of 55.43 % in
the water extract.
Conclusion:
The high phenolic content
and high antioxidant activity of black mulberry from
Southeast Serbia underline the nutritive and
phytomedicinal potentials of the fruit. Further studies
are, however, required before the fruit extract can be
exploited in the production of health foods and as an
antioxidant carrier in the food and pharmaceutical
industries.
Keywords:
Morus nigra L., Natural
phenolics, Antioxidant activity, Southeast Serbia.
