Free radical scavenging activity and HPLC-MS identification of major anthocyanin in ripe Ziziphus mucronata fruit collected in Burkina Faso

Abstract

In recent decades, interest in anthocyanin pigments has increased due to their possible use as natural food colorants, antioxidants, and  anti-inflammatory agents. This study aimed to identify the major anthocyanins in ripe Ziziphus mucronata fruit harvested in the  Niangoloko classified forest. HPLC-ESI-MS/MS was used to identify anthocyanins. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids  (TFC) were assessed using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and the spectrophotometric method of Khan (2012) respectively. Total anthocyanin content (TAC) was obtained using a differential pH method. Total antioxidant potential (TAC) was carried out using DPPH and ABTS tests.  Cyanidin 3-O-glucoside and cyanidin 3-O-galactoside were major anthocyanins identified by HPLC-MS. Quantitative analysis showed that  this fruit contains an average of 321 ± 11 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE), 3815 ± 15 mg quercetin equivalent (QE), and 9.64 ± 0.70 mg  cyanidin 3-O-glucoside equivalent per 100 g fresh fruit. Total antioxidant contents ranged between 206.57 ± 7.00 and 88.72 ± 0.87 mg TE/100 g fresh fruit. Free radical scavenging activity of Ziziphus mucronata fruit was found to be 342.90 µg/mL, while that of standard  Trolox was 21.8 µg/mL. Therefore, Ziziphus mucronata fruit could be a potential source of natural bioactive substances of great interest  to consumers.