Polyphenols from <i>Lycium barbarum</i> (Goji) Fruit European Cultivars at Different Maturation Steps: Extraction, HPLC-DAD Analyses, and Biological Evaluation
Andrei Mocan,
Francesco Cairone,
Marcello Locatelli,
Francesco Cacciagrano,
Simone Carradori,
Dan C. Vodnar,
Gianina Crișan,
Giovanna Simonetti,
Stefania Cesa
Affiliations
Andrei Mocan
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 23 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Francesco Cairone
Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Marcello Locatelli
Department of Pharmacy, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti–Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Francesco Cacciagrano
Department of Pharmacy, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti–Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Simone Carradori
Department of Pharmacy, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti–Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Dan C. Vodnar
Department of Food Science, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Gianina Crișan
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 23 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Giovanna Simonetti
Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Stefania Cesa
Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Goji berries are undoubtedly a source of potentially bioactive compounds but their phytochemical profile can vary depending on their geographical origin, cultivar, and/or industrial processing. A rapid and cheap extraction of the polyphenolic fraction from Lycium barbarum cultivars, applied after homogenization treatments, was combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses based on two different methods. The obtained hydroalcoholic extracts, containing interesting secondary metabolites (gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, catechin, sinapinic acid, rutin, and carvacrol), were also submitted to a wide biological screening. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents, the antioxidant capacity using three antioxidant assays, tyrosinase inhibition, and anti-Candida activity were evaluated in order to correlate the impact of the homogenization treatment, geographical origin, and cultivar type on the polyphenolic and flavonoid amount, and consequently the bioactivity. The rutin amount, considered as a quality marker for goji berries according to European Pharmacopeia, varied from ≈200 to ≈400 µg/g among the tested samples, showing important differences observed in relation to the influence of the evaluated parameters.
