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. 2024 Oct 24;13(21):3379.
doi: 10.3390/foods13213379.

Mechanistic Insights into the Antioxidant Potential of Sugarcane Vinegar Polyphenols: A Combined Approach of DPPH-UPLC-MS, Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Feifei Wu  1   2 , Bo Lin  2 , Jing Chen  1   3 , Fengjin Zheng  2 , Yuxia Yang  2 , Usman Rasheed  3   4   5 , Ganlin Chen  3   4   5
Affiliations

Mechanistic Insights into the Antioxidant Potential of Sugarcane Vinegar Polyphenols: A Combined Approach of DPPH-UPLC-MS, Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Feifei Wu et al. Foods. .

Abstract

This study investigated the antioxidant potential of sugarcane vinegar, an emerging functional food, by analyzing its polyphenols and underlying molecular mechanisms that intervene in oxidative stress. Using a 1,1-diphenyl-2-trinitrophenylhydrazine (DPPH) assay combined with UPLC-MS analysis, six key polyphenols were identified: chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, luteolin, protocatechuic acid, and syringic acid. These compounds showed a positive correlation with antioxidant capacity. In a simulated sugarcane vinegar environment, these polyphenols exhibited synergistic antioxidant effects, while in methanol, antagonistic interactions were predominant. Network pharmacology revealed five key polyphenols targeting 10 critical proteins involved in oxidative stress, including the PI3K-Akt and IL-17 signaling pathways. Molecular docking confirmed strong binding affinities between these polyphenols and core targets like PTGS2, STAT3, and GSK3B. This study establishes a reference for the antioxidant mechanisms of sugarcane vinegar and highlights its potential for developing functional products.

Keywords: DPPH-UPLC-MS; antioxidants; molecular docking; network pharmacology; oxidative stress; sugarcane vinegar polyphenols.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of extraction solvents on total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of sugarcane vinegar extracts. Different uppercase and lowercase letters indicate significant differences of TPC and TFC at p-value < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of extraction solvents on antioxidant activities of sugarcane vinegar extracts. Different uppercase or lowercase letters indicate significant differences at p-value < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Venn diagram of sugarcane vinegar polyphenols and oxidative stress targets (“Drug” represents sugarcane vinegar polyphenols, and “Disease” represents targets).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Network diagram of sugarcane vinegar active antioxidants and their target genes to combat oxidative stress (circles represent antioxidants, and rectangles represent target genes: larger the rectangle, higher the node degrees).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of sugarcane vinegar polyphenols to combat oxidative stress. (A) The bar graph of the top 10 GO terms, including biological process (BP), cellular compound (CC), and molecular function (MF). (B) The bubble diagram of the top 10 KEGG pathways.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of sugarcane vinegar polyphenols to combat oxidative stress. (A) The bar graph of the top 10 GO terms, including biological process (BP), cellular compound (CC), and molecular function (MF). (B) The bubble diagram of the top 10 KEGG pathways.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The PPI network analysis of core targets screened from potential targets (A) and network diagram of the active component–key target pathway (B) of sugarcane vinegar polyphenols to mitigate oxidative stress. Note: The full names of the targets are as follows: Androgen Receptor (AR), Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 (CDK2), Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Beta (GSK3B), Heat Shock Protein 90 Alpha Family Class A Member 1 (HSP90AA1), MET Proto-Oncogene, Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (MET), Matrix Metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9), NFE2-Like BZIP Transcription Factor 2 (NFE2L2), Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthase 2 (PTGS2), RELA Proto-Oncogene, NF-κB Subunit (RELA), and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3).
Figure 7
Figure 7
The map of the IL-17 signaling pathway illustrating the enrichment of 11 target genes (red color).
Figure 8
Figure 8
The molecular docking pattern of luteolin (L) with PTGS2.
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