DPPH Radical Scavenging Active Compound Analysis in the Extract of Aralia elata Leaves

In order to utilize mature leaf of Aralia elata, a search was conducted for compounds exhibiting antioxidant activity present in the leaf extract. For the search for active compounds, we utilized a system that measures 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity simultaneously with liquid chromatography (LC) separation. Mass spectrometry was performed on the peaks of the identified DPPH radical scavenging active compounds, and comparative analysis was performed with the standard compounds. As a result, it was confirmed that the DPPH radical scavenging active compounds in mature leaf extract of A. elata were 5-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, and 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid. In LC quantitative analysis, the content of 5-caffeoylquinic acid in the extract of A. elata leaves was confirmed to be 335.16 μg/ml, and the contents of 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid were 58.68 μg/ml and 12.18 μg/ml, respectively. The highest content of 5-caffeoylquinic acid was found to be about 6.7 mg/g in mature dried leaf of A. elata. Through the above results, it was confirmed that compounds with a caffeoylquinic acid structure, including 5-caffeoylquinic acid, can be used as main indicators in research using mature leaf of A. elata.