Polyphenolic profile, antioxidant activity, and pro-inflammatory enzymes inhibition of leaves, flowers, bark and fruits of Cotoneaster integerrimus: A comparative study

Complementary UHPLC-PDA-ESI-MS3, HPLC-PDA-fingerprint, Folin-Ciocalteau, n-butanol/HCl and hide powder assays were employed to study the qualitative and quantitative differences in phenolic composition between different organs (leaves, flowers, bark and fruits) of Cotoneaster integerrimus. The bark and flowers were the richest source of polyphenols (107.0-113.6 mg GAE/g dw of plant material), with the dominating proanthocyanidins (96.3-97.7 mg/g dw), and low-molecular weight flavan-3-ols (21.5-22.0 mg/g). Among the leaf phenolics (93.6 mg/g), caffeoylquinic pseudodepsides (21.0 mg/g) and flavonol glycosides (21.7 mg/g) were prevailing, while the fruits contained relatively low amounts of polyphenols (49.5 mg/g) with high proportion of procyanidins (27.1 mg/g). In in vitro tests of antioxidant activity (DPPH, FRAP and TBARS), the effects of bark, flowers and leaves were significantly higher in comparison to these of the fruits. The bark sample had also the highest anti-inflammatory activity in the inhibition tests towards lipoxygenase and hyaluronidase. Despite the differences, the composition of the investigated organs seems consistent with the indications of traditional medicine and supports their therapeutic application in inflammation/infectious diseases and cardiovascular disorders.