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. 2014 Oct 15;19(10):16640-55.
doi: 10.3390/molecules191016640.

Influence of sulfur fumigation on the chemical constituents and antioxidant activity of buds of Lonicera japonica

Ai-Li Guo  1 , Liang-Mian Chen  2 , Yan-Min Wang  3 , Xiao-Qian Liu  4 , Qi-Wei Zhang  5 , Hui-Min Gao  6 , Zhi-Min Wang  7 , Wei Xiao  8 , Zhen-Zhong Wang  8
Affiliations

Influence of sulfur fumigation on the chemical constituents and antioxidant activity of buds of Lonicera japonica

Ai-Li Guo et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Lonicera japonica flos is widely used as a pharmaceutical resource and a commonly-employed ingredient in healthy food, soft beverages and cosmetics in China. Sometimes, sulfur fumigation is used during post-harvest handling. In this study, a comprehensive comparison of the chemical profile between sun-dried and sulfur-fumigated samples was conducted by HPLC fingerprints and simultaneous quantification of nine constituents, including secologanic acid, along with another eight usually-analyzed markers. Secologanic acid was destroyed, and its sulfonates were generated, whereas caffeoylquinic acids were protected from being oxidized. The residual sulfur dioxide in sulfur-fumigated samples was significantly higher than that in sun-dried samples, which might increase the potential incidence of toxicity to humans. Meanwhile, compared with sun-dried samples, sulfur-fumigated samples have significantly stronger antioxidant activity, which could be attributed to the joint effect of protected phenolic acids and flavonoids, as well as newly-generated iridoid sulfonates.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
HPLC chromatograms of Lonicera japonica flos (LJF) samples collected in Shandong province for the qualitative analysis. (a) Sun-dried; (b) Sulfur-fumigated. The peak number refers to the compound number shown in Table 1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of the main compounds in LJF samples.
Figure 3
Figure 3
HPLC chromatograms of LJF samples collected in Jiangsu province (a,b) and mixed reference substances (c–e). (a) samples detected at 350 nm; (b) samples detected at 254 nm; (c) mixed reference substances of chlorogenic acid (3), rutin (15), luteoloside (17), isochlorogenic A (20), isochlorogenic B (19) and isochlorogenic C (21), detected at 350 nm; (d) mixed reference substances of loganin (8) and sweroside (9), detected at 254 nm. (e) Reference secologanic acid (6), detected at 254 nm.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The antioxidant capability of sulfur-fumigated samples, sun-dried samples and reference compounds (n = 3). (a) The percentage of free radical scavenging of LJF samples at concentrations of 0.12, 0.18, 0.24, 0.30, 0.36, 0.42, 0.48 and 0.60 g crude material/L. (b) The percentage of free radical scavenging of reference compounds. The concentration was as follows: 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 mg/L for Vc and luteoloside (17); 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 mg/L for chlorogenic acid (3); and 7.8, 12, 15, 25, 31, 40, 50, 62 mg/L for secologanic acid (6).
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