Study On Physicochemical Properties And Antioxidant Activity

Vitex is the dominant species and widely distributed in the mountain land of north China, vitex honey is one of the four most famous honeys, because its flavor and taste is highly appreciated by the consumer:light amber colored and white crystals, with slightly sweet tinge. In this paper, the physicochemical properties and mineral element of vitex honey were determined; the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant indexes were investigated; the hepatoprotective effects of vitex honey in vivo were analyzed and researched.1. The physicochemical properties (moisture, ash, electrical conductivity, pH, color, free acidity, lactonic acidity, total acidity, protein, proline, HMF, diastase activity, fructose, glucose, sucrose) and mineral contents (K, Ca, Na, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, Co, Mn, Cr, Cd, Pb) of 14 vitex honey samples were investigated. The physicochemical values were in the range of Codex Alimentarius Commission’s limits. The most abundant minerals were K, Mg, Ca and Na, the K made up 68.4% of the total mineral content and the content is 94.2-244.5 mg/kg.2. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of 14 vitex honeys were 344.1-520.6 mg GAE/kg and 19.83-31.19 mg Rutin/kg, respectively..3. All vitex honey samples had evident scavenging effects on DPPH radical (41.725-52.136 IC50 mg/ml), ferric reducing antioxidant power (96.69-132.36 Trolox/kg) and Ferrous ion-chelating ability (31.18-36.36 mg EDTA-Na2/kg). A positive correlation was observed between the TPC with the DPPH radical assay(R=0.9415) and FRAP(R=0.9649), which indicated that the phenolic compounds are the main antioxidants of vitex honey。4. The vitex honey inhibited H2O2-induced DNA damage (70.09%) and the generation of 8-OHdG in mice (39.25%), and the inhibitory rate was associated with the TPC of honey.5. The vitex honey pretreatment increase in serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity (15.07%) and decrease in Cu2+-mediate lipoprotein oxidation (80.07%), and suppression in alanine aminotransferase (75.79%) and apartate aminotransferase (74.52%), enhancement in the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and reduction in malondialdehyde (36.15%) and 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (19.6%) formation compared with paracetamol-intoxicated group.