Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Activity and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity of Chaenomeles Speciosa from Four Production Areas in China

Chaenomeles speciosa(Sweet) Nakai is a medicinal plant. Until date, there are no studies focusing on comparing the chemical profiles, antioxidant activity andα-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the dried fruits ofC. speciosafrom different production regions. In the study, we investigated the chemical components of dried fruits ofC. speciosafrom Yunnan, Chongqing, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces in China in relation to the antioxidant activity andα-glucosidase inhibitory activity.C. speciosafrom Yunnan had higher total flavonoid (47.92 ± 3.79 mg/g), total polyphenol (29.15 ± 0.29 mg/g) and polysaccharide (27.60 ± 1.56 mg/g) contents than plants from other production areas. Samples from Yunnan, Zhejiang and Anhui (all > 3200 mg/kg) had higher free amino acid contents than those from Chongqing (2286.66 mg/kg). Oleanolic acid and ursolic acid levels were highest in samples from Zhejiang (555.98 ± 20.88 μg/g) and Anhui (321.06 ± 14.64 μg/g), respectively.C. speciosafrom Chongqing had low total flavonoid, total polyphenol, polysaccharide, free amino acid, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid contents but high levels of palmitic acid (12.04 ± 0.02 mg/g) and stearic acid (2.23 ± 0.08 mg/g). Among four production areas, Yunnan represented the highest antioxidant activity andα-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In addition, correlation analysis revealed that total flavonoid, total polyphenol, polysaccharide and ursolic acid were the major components responsible for the antioxidant activity ofC. speciosa, while total flavonoid and polysaccharide were the main contributors forα-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the plant. These results would be helpful for evaluating the quality ofC. speciosain the different production areas.Keywords:Chaenomeles speciosa;chemical composition;antioxidant activity;α-glucosidase inhibitory activity