Comparisons of the active components in four unripe raspberry extracts and their activites

Dried unripe raspberry of Rubus chingii, were prepared as the following four extracts: unpurified raspberry extract (URE), purified raspberry extract (PRE), URE after high temperature-high pressure (UPE-H, HTHP), and PRE after HTHP (PRE-H). The total polyphenolic contents (TPCs) and total flavonoid contents (TFCs) of the four extracts, as assessed by colorimetry, significantly increased in the following order: URE < URE-H < PRE < PRE-H. The antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity were as follows: PRE-H > PRE ≈ URE-H > URE. Moreover, 11 typical polyphenols were quantified using a HPLC-MS analysis showed that HTHP treatments were conducive to releasing more (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, proanthocyanidin B1 and ellagic acid, reaching ~70% ‒1,100%, but decreased the rutin, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside levels by ~10% –20%. The purification of macroporous resin was beneficial to the enrichment of all polyphenols, by ~30%–300%. Ellagic acid was the main polyphenol found in the extracts, accounting for ~67%-74%. The study indicated that changes in the polyphenols of raspberry extracts after resin purification and/or HTHP treatment were correlated with the extract’s antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity. Further evaluations of the correlation between bioactive ingredients and treatments should reveal that HTHP and resin purification methods are effective means of preparing extracts.