Determination of Phytochemical Contents and Biological Activities from the Fruits of Elaeagnus multiflora

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the phytochemical contents and biological activities, including α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity, from the fruits of Elaeagnus multiflora using different solvent systems. The 50% ethanol extract of this species showed the most potent α-glucosidase inibitory activity (88.5%) at a concentration of 1 ㎎/mL. Moreover, this extract also displayed the strongest antioxidant activity in each assay, showing 96.3% in DPPH scavenging activity, 98.2% in ABTS scavenging activity, and 2.5% in reducing power. The highest total phytochemical contents, including flavan-3-ols, phenolic acids, and flavonoids, were observed in the 50% ethanol extract. Interestingly, flavan-3-ols (3.150 ㎎/g) were detected at a significantly higher total content than those of phenolic acids (0.380 ㎎/g) and flavonoids (not detected). Additionally, the contents of individual phytochemicals showed remarkable differences, especially the epicatechin gallate (2.008 ㎎/g) and gallic acid (0.099 ㎎/g), which were the predominant constituents of each phytochemical type. Therefore, our results suggest that the 50% ethanol extract of E. multiflora fruits has strong biological activities, which are correlated with high phytochemical contents.