An improved method for the analysis of major antioxidants of Hibiscus esculentus Linn

Major antioxidants of aqueous ethanol extract from Lady’s Finger (Hibiscus esculentus Linn) were systematically investigated in this study. Firstly, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to identify antioxidant peaks in a sample by spiking the sample extract with 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical, which was prepared from manganese dioxide and ABTS. Secondly, in order to identify the elution period of major antioxidant peaks, the antioxidant capacities of different fractions from solid-phase extraction (SPE) were measured, and the chromatograms of fractions were also recorded. Lastly, multiple mass spectrometry (MSn) was used to elucidate the possible chemical structures of antioxidants, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was further applied for structure confirmation. The major antioxidant compounds in lady’s finger were identified to be quercetin derivatives and (−)-epigallocatechin using HPLC–MS and HPLC–MSn (n = 2–4) techniques. It was found that about 70% of total antioxidant activity was contributed by four quercetin derivatives. The structures of major antioxidants, which were isolated by semi-preparative RP-HPLC with two tandem C18 columns, were further confirmed using UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and 13C NMR spectra. Quercetin 3-O-xylosyl ( 1 ‴ → 2 ″ ) glucoside, quercetin 3-O-glucosyl (1′″ → 6″) glucoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside and quercetin 3-O-(6″-O-malonyl)-glucoside were first identified and characterized as major antioxidants in lady’s finger.