Nutr Res Pract.  2010 Feb;4(1):16-22.

Comparison of methods for proanthocyanidin extraction from pine (Pinus densiflora) needles and biological activities of the extracts

• Kim NY
• Jang MK
• Lee DG
• Yu KH
• Jang H
• Kim M
• Kim SG
• Yoo BH
• Lee SH

Abstract

Flavonoids are known to be effective scavengers of free radicals. In particular, proanthocyanidins are flavonoids that possess cardiovascular protection, antioxidative activities, and immunomodulatory activities. Here, we evaluated proanthocyanidin contents in the total polyphenolic compounds of pine needle extracts prepared by hot water, ethanol, hexane, hot water-hexane (HWH), and hot water-ethanol (HWE). Analysis of each extract indicated that the ethanol extract contained the highest proanthocyanidin concentration. The HWH and hexane extracts also contained relatively high concentrations of proanthocyanidin. On the other hand, proanthocyanidin content analyses out of the total polyphenolic compounds indicated that the HWH extract contained the highest content. These results suggest that HWH extraction is a suitable method to obtain an extract with a high level of pure proanthocyanidins and a relatively high yield. The HWH extract possessed superior activity in diverse antioxidative analyses such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferrous ion chelating (FIC), and ferric-ion reducing power (FRAP) assays. In addition, upon assessing the effects of the pine needle extracts on macrophages (Raw 264.7 cell), the HWH extract exhibited the highest activity. In this study, we discerned an efficient extraction method to achieve relatively pure proanthocyanidins from pine needles and evaluated the biological functions of the resulting extract, which could potentially be used for its efficacious components in functional food products.

Keyword

Antioxidative activity; immunological activity; pine needle; proanthocyanidin

MeSH Terms

Biphenyl Compounds
Ethanol
Flavonoids
Free Radicals
Functional Food
Hand
Macrophages
Needles
Picrates
Proanthocyanidins
Water
Biphenyl Compounds
Ethanol
Flavonoids
Free Radicals
Picrates
Proanthocyanidins
Water

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the extraction processes of the pine needles

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  Fig. 2 DPPH radical scavenging activities of pine needle extracts. Means ± SEM for three samples are shown as percentages compared with no treatment (0%). Factorial ANOVA with Fisher's PLSD post-hoc test* P < 0.001 was compared with no treatment. This experiment was repeated at least twice yielding reproducible results. BHT: butylated hydroxytoluene, Proanthocyanidin: 96% grape seed proanthocyanidin.

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  Fig. 3 Ferric-reducing antioxidant powers of pine needle extracts. Means ± SEM for three samples are shown as percentages compared with no treatment (0%). Factorial ANOVA with Fisher's PLSD post-hoc test* P < 0.001 was compared with no treatment. This experiment was repeated at least twice yielding reproducible results. BHT: butylated hydroxytoluene, Proanthocyanidin: 96% grape seed proanthocyanidin.

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  Fig. 4 Ferrous ion chelating activities of pine needle extracts. Means ± SEM for three samples are shown as percentages compared with no treatment (0%). Factorial ANOVA with Fisher's PLSD post-hoc test* P < 0.001 was compared with no treatment. This experiment was repeated at least twice yielding reproducible results.

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  Fig. 5 Inhibitory effects of LPS-induced NO production by pine needle extracts. Means ± SEM for three samples are shown as percentages compared with no treatment (100%). Factorial ANOVA with Fisher's PLSD post-hoc test* P < 0.001 was compared with no treatment. This experiment was repeated at least twice yielding reproducible results.

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