Comparative Study of Bioactivity and Safety Evaluation of Ethanolic Extracts of Zanthoxylum schinifolium Fruit and Pericarp

Abstract

The fruit and pericarp of Zanthoxylum schinifolium (ZS) have been used in traditional medicine; however, few studies have characterized ZS fruit and pericarp. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated the safety of ZS fruit (ZSF) and pericarp (ZSP) extracts and compared their bioactivity. To evaluate the safety of ZSF and ZSP, mutagenicity, cytotoxicity, and oxidative stress assays were performed and nontoxic concentration ranges were obtained. ZSP was found to be superior to ZSF in terms of its antimutagenic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. In the S9 mix, the mutation inhibition rate of ZSP was close to 100% at concentrations exceeding 625 µg·plate-1 for both the TA98 and TA100 strains. ZSP exhibited efficient DPPH (IC50 = 75.6 ± 6.1 µg·mL−1) and ABTS (IC50 = 57.4 ± 6 µg·mL−1) scavenging activities. ZSP inhibited the release of cytokines, involved in IL-1β (IC50 = 134.4 ± 7.8), IL-6 (IC50 = 262.8 ± 11.2), and TNF-α (IC50 = 223.8 ± 5.8). These results indicate that ZSP contains a higher amount of biochemicals than ZSF, or that ZSP contains unique biochemicals. In conclusion, for certain physiological activities, the use of ZSP alone may be more beneficial than the combined use of ZSF and ZSP.

Phyto-Carbazole Alkaloids from the Rutaceae Family as Potential Protective Agents against Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…AGEs have an important role in the progression and pathogenesis of AD, as Aβ aggregation is accelerated in the presence of AGEs [99]. The content of AGEs is more in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and plaques, as suggested by immunohistochemical studies [100]. Additionally, both ZP and ZS effectively protect human-derived neuronal cells from high glucose-induced cytotoxicity, indicating the neuroprotective nature of the plants.…”

Optimization of Major Extraction Variables to Improve Recovery of Anthocyanins from Elderberry by Response Surface Methodology

“…Various studies have compared the antioxidant activities of ascorbic acid and berry extracts. It was reported that winter cherry, Zanthoxylum schinifolium fruit, and acai berry showed antioxidant activities of 20.81% (with FRAP assay), 22.7% (with ABTS assay), and 78.8% (with DPPH assay), respectively, compared to ascorbic acid [60][61][62].…”