Phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of Euonymus japonicus Thunb.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterise the phenolic profile and evaluate the antioxidant activity of aqueous and methanol leaf extracts from Euonymus japonicus Thunb., a species of flowering plant in the Celastraceae family. Liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array and electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry (DAD-ESI-MSⁿ) detection was used to characterise and quantify phenolic compounds. Thirty-two compounds were detected; among them, flavonoids (mainly quercetin and kaempferol glycosides) were the most abundant compounds in both extracts. The results obtained for DPPH and ABTS assays in the extracts were in agreement with the highest content of phenolics in the methanol extract.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• HPLC
• mass spectrometry
• phenolic profile
• antioxidant activity
• Euonymus japonicus Thunb

Supplementary material

Supplementary material relating to this paper is available online, alongside Figures S1–S3 and Tables S1 and S2.

Acknowledgements

Technical and human support provided by CICT of Universidad de Jaén (UJA, MINECO, Junta de Andalucía, FEDER) is gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.