The Antioxidant Capacity of Phytochemical Compounds in Camellia nitidissima Chi Flowers and Their Identification by HPLC Triple TOF MS/MS

Camellia nitidissima Chi (CNC) is a medicinal and edible plant in China. In this study, the antioxidant capacity of phytochemical compounds in CNC flowers was investigated. CNC flowers were extracted with 95% ethanol, then partitioned into the dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water fractions. It showed that the ethyl acetate fraction had the highest total phenolic contents and the strongest antioxidant capacity compared to other fractions. For the ethyl acetate fraction, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical cation scavenging activity were 88.9% and 100% at 200 μg/mL, respectively. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was 831.4 μM FeSO 4 at 1000 μg/mL. Subsequently, twenty-one phenolic compounds in the ethanolic extract fraction were identified by HPLC Triple TOF MS/MS. In conclusion, the antioxidant capacity of CNC flowers extracts was attributed to the phenolic compounds, which had the abilities to scavenge the free radical.