Polyphenols from longan seeds and their radical-scavenging activity

Five previously uncharacterised polyphenols, ethyl gallate (2), 1-β-O-galloyl-d-glucopyranose (3), methyl brevifolin carboxylate (4), brevifolin (5) and 4-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-ellagic acid (8), and three previously identified polyphenols, gallic acid (1), corilagin (6) and ellagic acid (7), were isolated from longan seeds. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic and chemical methods including HRESIMS and NMR. Eight polyphenols exhibited scavenging activity towards DPPH radicals with SC50 values of 0.80–5.91 μg/ml and towards superoxide radicals with SC50 values of 1.04–7.03 μg/ml. The radical-scavenging activity of the newly characterised polyphenols was comparable to that of gallic acid, corilagin and ellagic acid.