Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Calabria, I-87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2011 Jul;49(7):1549-55. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2011.03.048. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
Since the past decade consumption of certain foods has been reported to have a positive effect on health. The object of the study was to determine for the first time the chemical composition and the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic potential of Citrus medica L. cv Diamante flowers, leaves and fruits (endocarp and mesocarp) at two maturity stages. Flowers and leaves were characterized by the highest total phenols and flavonoids content. A declining trend was observed during maturity of fruits for both phenols and flavonoids. The antioxidant activity evaluated by the β-carotene bleaching test showed a strong activity for flowers and endocarp of mature fruits with IC50 values of 2.8 μg/mL and 3.5 μg/mL, respectively, after 30 min of incubation. Interestingly, the mature fruits endocarp (IC50 value of 426.0 μg/mL) could inhibit α-amylase with an IC50 value 2-fold higher than immature fruits. None of the tested extracts affected the proliferation of human skin fibroblasts 142BR. The obtained results suggest a potential use of C. medica L. cv Diamante as new valuable Citrus species with functional properties for food or nutraceutical product on the basis of high content of phytochemicals.
在过去的十年中，人们发现某些食物的消费对健康有积极影响。本研究的目的是首次确定在两个成熟阶段的柑橘属 Diamante 品种的鲜花、叶子和果实（内果皮和中果皮）的化学成分以及抗氧化、抗炎和降血糖潜力。鲜花和叶子的总酚类和类黄酮含量最高。在果实成熟过程中，酚类和类黄酮的含量都呈下降趋势。通过β-胡萝卜素漂白试验评估的抗氧化活性表明，成熟果实的花和内果皮具有很强的活性，孵育 30 分钟后，IC50 值分别为 2.8μg/mL 和 3.5μg/mL。有趣的是，成熟果实的内果皮（IC50 值为 426.0μg/mL）对α-淀粉酶的抑制作用是未成熟果实的 2 倍，IC50 值更高。测试的提取物均未影响人皮肤成纤维细胞 142BR 的增殖。研究结果表明，基于高含量的植物化学物质，柑橘属 Diamante 品种具有功能性，可作为新的有价值的柑橘类水果，用于食品或营养保健品。
