Deastringent Peel Extracts of Persimmon (Dinspyros kaki Thunb. cv. Cheongdo- Bansi) Protect Neuronal PC-12 SH-SY5Y Cells against Oxidative Stress

The peel of astringent persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb. cv. Cheongdo-Bansi) is a by-product of dried persimmon (gotgam). We investigated if deastringent peel extracts of persimmon cv. Cheongdo-Bansi had antioxidative and neuroprotective properties. Two different extracts were prepared: thermally and nonthermally treated persimmon peel extracts (TPE and NTPE, respectively). Both TPE and NTPE were fractionated sequentially in n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water. The TPE and NTPE ethyl acetate fractions had the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as antioxidant capacities among all the fractions. Pretreatment of neuronal PC-12 and SH-SY5Y cells with the TPE and NTPE ethyl acetate fractions increased cell viability after exposure to oxidative stress. The ethyl acetate fraction of TPE attenuated oxidative stress inside both PC-12 and SH-SY5Y cells more effectively than that of NTPE. Furthermore, the TPE and NTPE ethyl acetate fractions inhibited acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. Analysis of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry results revealed gallic acid, kaempferol, kaempferol-3-O-galactoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, quercetin, quercetin-3-O-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-galactoside-2'-O-gallate, and quercetin-3-O-glucoside as the major phenolics of the TPE and NTPE ethyl acetate fractions. Taken together, these results suggest that the ethyl acetate fraction of deastringent persimmon peel is rich in antioxidants and has potential as a functional food to reduce oxidative stress.