Abstract:

The identification of anthocyanins composition and antioxidant activity of Lonicera caerulea berry extracts
was investigated in this study. ‘Beilei’ L. caerulea berries were ultrasonically extracted with 60% ethanol containing 0.1%
HCl for 90 min. D101 macroporous resin was used to purify the obtained extracts. After that, freeze drying was conducted
to obtain powder. The contents of total anthocyanins and polyphenols were determined using pH differential and Folinreagent
method as (353.35 ± 0.79) mg/g and (474.01 ± 2.12) mg/g, respectively. High performance liquid chromatographytandem
mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used for the identification of anthocyanin composition. A total of 11
individual anthocyanins were found with cyanidin-3-glucoside (90.679%) being the major anthocyanin. Additionally, total
antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) radical (ABTS＋·), 1,1- diphenyl-
2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities of L. caerulea berry extracts, cyanidin-3-glucoside and VC were
comparatively analyzed, and the results revealed a decreasing order of cyanidin-3-glucoside > L. caerulea berry extract > VC.

Key words: Lonicera caerulea berry, anthocyanins, high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), antioxidant activity