LC-MS/MS Profiling of Flavonoid Composition and Assessment of Antioxidant Capacity of twenty four different Bamboo Species
Researching organically cultivated bamboo species for their antioxdiant capacities.
Bamboo is a rich source of flavonoids. These secondary plant metabolites exhibit many beneficial physiological effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-aging properties or prevention against cardiovascular diseases, which were exploited in traditional Chinese medicine TCM also [1]. Today, bamboo is widespread used in cosmetics and in the textile and food industry.
We investigated 24 bamboo species of the genera Phyllostachys, Fargesia murielae and Sasa that were organically cultivated and harvested in Switzerland. Dried leaves were milled and extracted by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). Clean-up of samples before LC-MS/MS analysis was achieved by solid phase extraction (SPE).
The LC-MS/MS method for quantification of the major bamboo flavonoids was robust and valid:
Different bamboo species can be clearly distinguished by an altered flavonoid profile. In addition different bamboo genera show characteristic patterns of individual flavonoids. Phyllostachys bamboo generally exhibits both higher total and higher individual flavonoid levels compared to Fargesia murielae and Sasa. Tricin is most prominently found in Sasa bamboo. Anti-oxidative capacity was found to be similar for all bamboo genera. Principal component analysis, based on flavonoid levels for the 24 different bamboo species, clearly reveals similarities within a genus and differences in between the genera.
A robust LC-MS/MS method was developed for quantification of flavonoids in bamboo leaf extracts. All bamboo genera reveal high radical scavenging properties. Principal component analysis allows for straightforward differentiation between bamboo species. Further studies on other beneficial physiological effects of bamboo are currently under investigation in our labs.
[1] Lu B., Wu, X., Tie X., Zhang Y. Toxicology and safety of anti-oxidant of bamboo leaves. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 43 (2005), 783-792.
Research by: Timm Hettich, Jenny Dold, Christian Gerig, Götz Schlotterbeck
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute of Chemistry and Bioanalytics, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
Organic Bamboo Industries AG, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland