Structural identification and <i>in vitro</i> antioxidant activities of anthocyanins in black chokeberry (<i>Aronia melanocarpa</i> lliot)
Fengmei Zhu, Jiaxuan Li, Zilong Ma, Jun Li, Bin Du
Abstract
Anthocyanins is a natural edible pigment with many health benefits. The aim of this work was the identification of anthocyanins present in Aronia melanocarpa using mass spectrometric features. The anthocyanins of the A. melanocarpa were analyzed by UVVis, HPLC‐DAD and LC‐EIS/MS methods. The four important anthocyanins were identified as follows: cyanidin‐3‐galactoside (68.68%), cyanidin‐3‐arabinoside (25.62%), cyanidin‐3‐glucoside (5.28%) and cyanidin‐3‐xyloside (0.42%). Among the four anthocyanin monomers, three anthocyanins with the highest content of A. melanocarpa were selected, and the antioxidant activity was studied with the total anthocyanins. The antioxidant capacity was cyanidin‐3‐galactoside > total anthocyanin > cyanidin‐3‐arabinoside > cyanidin‐3‐glucoside. The activity of the four anthocyanin samples was greater than ascorbic acid. The methodology described in this study will provide an effective tool for anthocyanins identification. Our results suggested that anthocyanins from A. melanocarpa exhibited effective antioxidant activity. These findings may be crucial in future research concerning chokeberry based functional food products.