Abstract:

The objective of this study was to extract and purify procyanidins from litchi chinensis pericarp and evaluate their antioxidation. The results showed that the optimum conditions based on single factor and orthogonal test are as follows: thrice extracting litchi chinensis pericarp with 20 times volume (V/W) of 80% ethanola at pH 6.0 for 120 min at 50 ℃. Under these conditions, the extraction yield is more than 90%. Then the extract was concentrated and separated by column packed AB-8 resins. The purity of the obtained extract is 87.45%, and the yield of procyanidins is 1.3%. The procyanidins of litchi chinensis pericarp have strong scavenging effects to DPPH radicals.

Key words: Litchi chinensis pericarp, procyanidins, extraction, purification, antioxidant activity