Antiallergic activities of eleven onions (Allium cepa) were attributed to quercetin 4′-glucoside using QuEChERS method and Pearson's correlation coefficient. (April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sato, Akihiko; Zhang, Ting; Yonekura, Lina; Tamura, Hirotoshi
• Is Part Of: Journal of functional foods. Volume 14(2015)
• Page Start: 581
• Page End: 589
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Subjects: RBL-2H3 rat basophilic leukemia cell -- DMSO dimethyl sulfoxide -- UV ultraviolet -- HPLC high performance liquid chromatography -- NMR nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy -- DEPT distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer -- COSY correlated spectroscopy -- HETCOR hetero-nuclear correlation -- HMBC hetero-nuclear multiple-bond connectivity -- MS mass spectrometry; Quercetin (PubChem CID: 5280343) -- Quercetin 4′-glucoside (PubChem CID: 12442954) -- Quercetin 3, 4′-diglucoside (PubChem CID: 5320835) -- Isorhamnetin 4′-glucoside (PubChem CID: 44259381); Onion (Allium cepa) -- QuEChERS -- Antiallergic activity -- RBL-2H3 -- Flavonols -- Correlation coefficient; Functional foods -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Food -- Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Nutrition -- Periodicals; 613.2
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jff.2015.02.029
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1756-4646

Abstract

Highlights: Quercetin 4′-glucoside was the most effective antiallergic substance in 11 onions. The antiallergic activity of quercetin 4′-glucoside was nearly equal to luteolin. QuEChERS and correlation coefficients are useful for determining valuable onions. Factor analysis clarified the importance of quercetin derivatives for the activity. Onions would be one of the most suitable foods for preventing type I allergies. Abstract: The antiallergic activity (type I hypersensitivity) of eleven onions (eight cultivars, three different geographical origins) used for daily meals was comparatively determined using RBL-2H3 cells. A large variation of antiallergic activity (IC50 = 20.8 to 310.1 µg/mL) was found in the edible parts. Among the eight cultivars, Satsuki showed the highest activity (IC50 = 89.1 µg/mL), and among the geographical origins Hokkaido was the most effective (20.8 µg/mL). The correlation coefficient between the antiallergic activities and thirty-four peaks in HPLC chromatograms of eleven onion extracts isolated using the QuEChERS method indicated that quercetin 4′-glucoside has a highly-positive correlation (r = 0.91) with the antiallergic activity. Indeed, quercetin 4′-glucoside was found in high concentration (140.1 mg/kg) in Hokkaido onions, and the isolated compound showed high antiallergic activity (IC50 = 3.0 µg/mL). Therefore, Hokkaido onions were the best inhibitors of type I allergy, possibly due to their high content of quercetin 4′-glucoside.