Antioxidant compounds from Rosa laevigata fruits

Rosa laevigata fruit is a foodstuff used in China to brew wine, extract brown pigments, and make a healthy vinegar-based beverage. It is also widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat nephropathy. We isolated 20 compounds from the fruit, including two new lignans, rosalaevins A and B (1 and 2), and 18 phenolic compounds isolated for the first time. Their antioxidant potentials were evaluated with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and a β-carotene linoleate model system. Several compounds exhibited powerful antioxidant capacities. No compound inhibited nitric oxide production in macrophage cells. These results provide new insights into the role of R. laevigata fruit in the prevention of nephropathy, and may lend support to the development of this fruit as a health-promoting food.