Chemical and Biological Assessment of Ziziphus jujuba Fruits from China: Different Geographical Sources and Developmental Stages

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 61; no. 30; pp. 7315 - 7324
• Main Authors: Chen, Jianping, Li, Zhonggui, Maiwulanjiang, Maitinuer, Zhang, Wendy L, Zhan, Janis Y. X, Lam, Candy T. W, Zhu, Kevin Y, Yao, Ping, Choi, Roy C. Y, Lau, David T. W, Dong, Tina T. X, Tsim, Karl W. K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 31.07.2013
• Subjects: antioxidant activity; Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; biological assessment; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; China; cultivars; cytotoxicity; developmental stages; drying; flavonoids; Flavonoids - chemistry; Flavonoids - pharmacology; Food industries; Fruit - chemistry; Fruit - growth & development; Fruit and vegetable industries; fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression - drug effects; markets; nucleotides; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - pharmacology; Quality Control; transcription (genetics); Ziziphus - chemistry; Ziziphus - growth & development; Ziziphus jujuba; China; Asia; maturity; Ziziphus jujuba Mill; neuroprotection; HPLC-DAD-MS/MS; source; antioxidation; Chinese date; Fruit; HPLC chromatography; Developmental stage; Maturity
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf402379u

Chinese date, the fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill., has thousands of years cultivation history, and about 700 cultivars of dates in China. Two types of dates are commonly found in the market: (i) fresh immature dates consumed as fruits, and (ii) dried mature dates used as Chinese medicines. Here, chemical and biological properties of these dates were revealed. Different sources of dates showed similar chemical profiles; however, the amounts of identified chemicals showed a great variation. The amount of nucleotides, flavonoids and polysaccharides in dates could be affected by its maturity and drying process. In parallel, the antioxidative functions of their extracts were compared. The date extracts protected PC12 cells against tBHP-induced cytotoxicity, and which also stimulated the transcriptional activity of antioxidant response element. The antioxidative effects were varied among different dates. The current results suggested the optimization of sources and specific usage of different maturity dates.