Preliminary structural characterization and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides extracted from Hawk tea (Litsea coreana var. lanuginosa)

Three polysaccharides were extracted from different leaf age Hawk teas (Litsea coreana var. lanuginosa) by hot water method. Preliminary structural characterization was conducted by physicochemical property, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. Antioxidant activities against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing activity power (FRAP), hydroxyl radical and erythrocyte hemolysis were also evaluated. The physicochemical property analysis indicated significant differences in the three polysaccharides. The FTIR spectra revealed the general characteristic absorption peaks of the three polysaccharides. The SEM images demonstrated significant differences in the surface features of the different polysaccharides. The antioxidant activity assays revealed the obvious antioxidant activities of three polysaccharides, and the polysaccharides of Hawk primary leaf tea exhibited higher antioxidant activities than the other two polysaccharides. With current findings, the polysaccharides from Hawk primary leaf tea may have potential applications in food industries. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.