Isolation, Chemical Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Pectic Polysaccharides of Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium L.)

The aim of this study was to isolate pectins with antioxidant activity from the leaves of Epilobium angustifolium L. Two pectins, EA-4.0 and EA-0.8, with galacturonic acid contents of 88 and 91% were isolated from the leaves of E. angustifolium L. by the treatment of plant raw materials with aqueous hydrochloric acid at pH 4.0 and 0.8, respectively. EA-4.0 and EA-0.8 were found to scavenge the DPPH radical in a concentration-dependent manner at 17–133 μg/mL, whereas commercial apple pectin scavenged at 0.5–2 mg/mL. The antioxidant activity of EA-4.0 was the highest and exceeded the activity of EA-0.8 and a commercial apple pectin by 2 and 39 times (IC50—0.050, 0.109 and 1.961 mg/mL), respectively. Pectins EA-4.0 and EA-0.8 were found to possess superoxide radical scavenging activity, with IC50s equal to 0.27 and 0.97 mg/mL, respectively. Correlation analysis of the composition and activity of 32 polysaccharide fractions obtained by enzyme hydrolysis and anionic exchange chromatography revealed that the antioxidant capacity of fireweed pectins is mainly due to phenolics and is partially associated with xylogalacturonan chains. The data obtained demonstrate that pectic polysaccharides appeared to be bioactive components of fireweed leaves with high antioxidant activity, which depend on pH at their extraction.