Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) vegetative parts as an unconventional source of lipophilic antioxidants

The profile of lipophilic antioxidants in different vegetative parts (leaves, shoots, buds and berries) was studied in sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) male and female plants collected in the end of spring. Five lipophilic compounds, i.e. three tocopherol homologues (alpha, beta and gamma), plastochromanol-8 and beta-carotene, were identified in each vegetative part of male and female sea buckthorn plants at the following concentrations: 7.25-35.41, 0.21-2.43, 0.41-1.51, 0.19-1.79 and 4.43-24.57 mg/100 g dry weight basis. Additionally, significant amounts of alpha-tocotrienol (1.99 mg/100 g dry weight basis) were detected in buds. The alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene were predominant lipophilic antioxidants in each vegetative part, accounting for 78.3-97.0% of identified compounds. The greatest amounts of lipophilic antioxidants were found in leaves, especially of female plants. Nevertheless, apart from leaves, also shoots of plants of both sexes seem to be a good source of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene. (C) 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.