DANICA S. DIMITRIJEVIC¹*, DANIJELA A. KOSTIC¹, GORDANA S. STOJANOVIC¹,SNEZANA S. MITIC¹, MILAN N. MITIC¹, RUZICA MICIC²
*Corresponding author
1. University of Niš, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Chemistry, Višegradska 33, 18 000 Niš, Serbia
2. University of Pristina, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Chemistry, Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia

Abstract

The aim of this research was determination of total phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents as well as measuring antioxidant activity in three types of mulberry (black, Morus nigra L.; red, Morus rubra L. and white, Morus alba L.) in five solvents (methanol, methanol-water (50/50, v/v%), ethanol, ethanol-water (50/50, v/v%) and water) grown in South East Serbia. The total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The content of total flavonoids was measured spectrophotometrically using the aluminum chloride assay. The content of monomeric anthocyanins was measuring also spectrophotometrically using the pH differential method. Antioxidant assay was based on the measurement of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) absorbance at 517 nm caused by the reaction of DPPH with the test sample. The results showed the highest total phenolic content in water extract of Morus rubra L., the highest flavonoid content in methanol extract of Morus nigra L. and the highest anthocyanin content and antioxidant capacity in the DPPH assays showed the water extract of Morus nigra L.

INTRODUCTION

Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, comprises 10–16 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries. The most popular species of genus Morus are Morus alba L. (white mulberry), Morus rubra L. (red mulberry) and Morus nigra L. (black mulberry). Mulberry is found from temperate to subtropical regions of the Northern hemisphere to the tropics of the Southern hemisphere and they can grow in a wide range of climatic, topographical and soil conditions. These are widely spread throughout all regions from the tropics to the sub-arctic areas. Genus Morus is widespread in Asia, Europe, North and South America and Africa as well.
Mulberry fruit may be coloured white, red or black when they are ripe. Deep-coloured fruits are good sources of phenolics, including flavonoids, anthocyanins and carotenoids (1-4) and mulberries are rich in phenolics (5). Mulberry fruit has been used as a folk remedy to treat oral and dental diseases, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and anemia (6). The main use of mulberry globally is as feed for the silk worm, but, depending on the location, it is also appreciated for its fruit (cons ...