Isolation and Identification of Components from Wasabi (<i>Wasabia japonica</i> Matsumura) Flowers and Investigation of Their Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities

Abstract

Wasabi (Wasabia japonica Matsumura) is a perennial plant, and its rhizome is widely used as a pungent spice. Wasabi rhizome has been reported to have various physiological activities, but the flower has not been studied in depth. The aim of the present study was to isolate compounds from wasabi flowers and clarify their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Three phenylpropanoids, one alkaloid and seven flavonoids were isolated from wasabi flowers. Among them, 2"-O-trans sinapoyl isovitexin was identified as a novel compound. Five compounds inhibited 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, with IC 50 values of less than 100 μM. Luteolin isolated in this study was found to inhibit nitric oxide production in macrophage-like J774.1 cells, with an IC 50 value of 24.1 ± 4.4 µM. Our results indicate that the phenolic compounds in wasabi flowers are effective ingredients for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. For these reasons, wasabi flowers are expected to be used effectively as a functional food.

Flavonoid and Phenolic Acids Content and In Vitro Study of the Potential Anti-Aging Properties of Eutrema japonicum (Miq.) Koidz Cultivated in Wasabi Farm Poland

“…Therefore, our results were in good agreement with previous investigations on the identification of isosaponarin and ferulic acid in the leaves [11,20], isorhamnetin-3-glucoside and astragalin in the flowers [10], and trans-ferulic acid, as well as trans-pcoumaric acid, in the roots [27] of E. japonicum. To the best of our knowledge, the other phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified for the first time in the investigated species.…”

“…Ferulic acid, luteolin, isoorientin, and rutin showed a significant inhibitory activity. Importantly, luteolin (IC 50 = 4.09 ± 0.28 µg/mL) and isoorientin (IC 50 = 6.73 ± 0.45 µg/mL) showed a stronger activity compared to Trolox (IC 50 = 6.48 ± 0.73 µg/mL) [10].…”

“…However, ten flavonoids (namely, isovitexin, isosaponarin, apigenin, luteolin, isoorientin -trans-sinapoylisovitexin) were isolated from the fresh leaves of wasabi [9]. Using the HPLC method, Kurata et al [10] identified luteolin, isorhamnetin-3-glucoside, astragalin, isovitexin, isoorientin, and rutin in the flowers of W. japonica. Moreover, from the leaves of W. japonica cultivated in Japan, isosaponarin [12,20] and isoorientin were isolated [12].…”

“…Literature studies have shown that E. japonicum contains not only allyl isothiocyanate derivatives [7,8] but, also, flavonoids [9,10], phenylpropanoids [10,11], and carotenoids [12]. Extracts from the leaves and roots of E. japonicum have numerous activities, such as antigenotoxic [13], anti-inflammatory [10,12], antioxidant [10,11], antiatopic dermatitis [14], antiplatelet [15], anticancer [15,16], and anti-obesity properties [17]. Besides value as a functional and regular food [18,19], the extract of the leaves of wasabi is also used as a cosmetic product, and it is included in the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) list [20,21].…”

The Effect of Isosaponarin Derived from Wasabi Leaves on Glutamate Release in Rat Synaptosomes and Its Underlying Mechanism

“…Wasabi ( Wasabia japonica ), a perennial plant that is native to Japan and belongs to the Brassicaceae family, is commonly used in food as a pungent spice [ 11 ]. Wasabi has numerous health-promoting effects, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-cancer, antiviral, and neuroprotective activities [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Previous studies have shown that wasabi leaves contain flavonoids [ 11 ], phenylpropanoids [ 17 ], terpenoids [ 18 ], and carotenoids [ 18 ].…”