Determination of quantitative composition of α-amyrin and maslinic acid in Prunus domestica L. fruit samples

Triterpenic compounds are widely distributed in edible and medicinal plants, and consequently, they are an integral part of the human diet. Although triterpenic compounds were considered to be biologically inactive for a long period of time, accumulating evidence on their broad spectrum pharmacological activities coupled with a low toxicity profile has sparked renewed interest with regard to human health. Triterpenic compounds have been shown to possess numerous biological activities such as antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and cholesterol-lowering, anticarcinogenic, hepatoprotective, antiatherosclerotic, wound-healing, anticoagulant, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial. [1-3] The aim of this research was to determine the quantitative composition of α-amyrin and maslinic acid in P. domestica fruit samples. 1 g of lyophilized Prunus domestica L. fruit powder was placed in dark glass bottles and covered with 10 ml 100% (v/v) acetone. The bottles are placed in an ultrasonic bath (Elmasonic P, Singen, Germany) for extraction performed for 10 minutes. The ultrasonic bath operates at a frequency of 80 kHz and a power of 1130 W. Following the extraction, the solution was filtered and the filter rinsed with 100% (v/v) acetone. The filtrate is subsequently transferred into a 10 ml volumetric flask and diluted to the calibration mark with 100% (v/v) acetone. [4] The UHPLC analysis of triterpenic compounds was performed according to Sedbare et al. [5] The results were analyzed using ’MS Excel 2023’ (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) and ’SPSS Statistics 21’ (IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). α-Amyrin contents in the tested P. domestica fruit samples varied from 51.56 µg/g to 148.73 µg/g. The calculated average amount of α-Amyrin was 96.40 µg/g, and the coefficient of variation was 40.82 %. The highest amount (148.73 µg/g) of α-amyrin was determined in P. domestica cultivar ’Renklod Rannij Doneckij’ fruit sample. The lowest amount (51.56 µg/g) of α-amyrin was determined in P. domestica cultivar ’Dambrovicų vengrinė’ fruit sample. The amount of maslinic acid found in P. domestica fruit samples varied from 4.37 µg/g to 48.46 µg/g. The average amount of maslinic acid calculated was 20.32 µg/g, with a coefficient of variation of 85.43 %. The highest amount (48.46 µg/g.) of maslinic acid was determined in P. domestica cultivar ’Renklod Rannij Doneckij’ fruit sample. The lowest amount (4.37 µg/g) of maslinic acid was determined in P. domestica cultivar ’Opal’ fruit sample. This research revealed the significant variations of α-amyrin and maslinic acid amounts in P. domestica samples. Among the tested cultivars, the fruit sample of ’Renklod Rannij Donetskij’ cultivar had the highest amounts of α-amyrin and maslinic acid, therefore the plum fruits of this cultivar could be promising for the further researches.