Scientia Agricultura Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (19): 3814-3824.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2025.19.002

• CROP GENETICS & BREEDING·GERMPLASM RESOURCES·MOLECULAR GENETICS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characterization of Antioxidant Activities in Sesame Leaves and Screening of High Antioxidant Germplasm

LUO ZiShu(), ZHANG YiJia, ZHOU Rong, ZHANG YanXin, ZHOU Ting, YOU Jun(), WANG LinHai()   

  1. Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wuhan 430062
  • Received:2025-04-18 Accepted:2025-06-04 Online:2025-10-01 Published:2025-10-10
  • Contact: YOU Jun, WANG LinHai

Abstract:

【Objective】Flavonoids and polyphenols are the main natural antioxidant active components in plants, which are abundant in sesame leaves. Analyzing the contents of antioxidant active components such as total flavonoids and total polyphenols in sesame leaves at different growth stages and positions, as well as the changes in antioxidant activities, and screening sesame germplasm with high antioxidant active components in leaves, will provide theoretical basis and excellent materials for the development and utilization of sesame leaves.【Method】The extraction process of total flavonoids and total polyphenols from leaves was optimized by a one-way test, and total flavonoids, total polyphenols, and antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging ratio) were determined in sesame leaves at different growth stages and leaf positions, as well as leaves of 154 sesame germplasm.【Result】The optimal conditions for the extraction of total flavonoids and total polyphenols from the leaves were: 80% ethanol as the extraction solvent, solid-liquid ratio of 1:50 (g·mL-1), oscillation time of 4 min, oscillation frequency of 1 250 r/min and ultrasonic time of 35 min. With the process of sesame growth and development, the total flavonoid content of sesame leaves increased rapidly from the initial-bloom stage to the full-bloom stage, and reached the peak at the mature stage. The total polyphenols content generally showed a continuous increasing trend, slightly decreased at the final flowering period, but the difference was not significant. The antioxidant activity generally shows a continuous increasing trend. At mature stage, the total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in leaves at different leaf positions showed a gradient distribution of middle > lower > upper, while the total polyphenols showed upper > middle > lower. The total flavonoid content in the leaves of 154 sesame germplasm ranged from 20.94 to 57.43 mg CAE·g-1, the total polyphenol content ranged from 16.04 to 65.75 mg GAE·g-1, and the antioxidant activity ranged from 54.09% to 80.45%. Cluster analysis divided 154 materials into four groups, group Ⅰ materials had relatively high total flavonoid and total polyphenol contents and the three indexes were relatively balanced; group Ⅱ had high values of antioxidant activity; group Ⅲ had mostly median levels of total flavonoid and total polyphenol contents and low antioxidant activity; and group Ⅳ had low values of overall antioxidant indexes. Five excellent leaf germplasm with outstanding antioxidant activity indexes were screened: Sesame in Xinjiang E’min, White Sesame in Shaanxi Weinan, White Sesame in Shaanxi Baoji, 68·544 in Nicaragua and K2 in Guinea, respectively.【Conclusion】The differences in antioxidant activity indexes of sesame leaves at different growth stages and different leaf positions were systematically revealed. Sesame leaves harvested from the middle position at mature stage had the highest content of antioxidant substances and antioxidant activity.

Key words: sesame, leaves, harvesting period, leaf position, total flavonoids, total polyphenols, antioxidant activity

Fig. 1

Effect of different extraction solvents on the yield of total flavonoids and total polyphenols Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at P<0.01. The same as below"

Fig. 2

Effect of different single factors on the yield of total flavonoids and total polyphenols"

Fig. 3

Comparison of antioxidant activity indexes of sesame leaves at different growth stages"

Table 1

Comparison of antioxidant activity indexes of sesame leaves at different leaf positions"

不同叶位
Different leaf positions
总黄酮含量
Total flavonoids content
(mg CAE·g-1)
总多酚含量
Total polyphenols content
(mg GAE·g-1)
抗氧化活性/DPPH清除率
Antioxidant activity/DPPH scavenging ratio (%)
上部叶Upper leaf 16.79±1.24c 45.31±1.14a 64.20±2.52b
中部叶Middle leaf 52.65±2.20a 44.40±3.48a 72.83±3.24a
下部叶Lower leaf 37.94±1.32b 40.39±1.45b 64.97±2.38b

Fig. 4

Variation characterization of antioxidant related indexes in leaves of sesame germplasm resources a: Distribution of antioxidant related indexes in leaves of 154 sesame germplasms; b: Comparison of antioxidant related indexes between landrace and cultivar varieties; c: Comparison of antioxidant related indicators between northern and southern varieties. *, ** indicate significant difference at P<0.05 and P<0.01 levels, respectively"

Fig. 5

Cluster analysis of antioxidant related indexes of 154 sesame germplasm resources TFC: Total flavonoids content; TPC: Total polyphenols content; AOA: Antioxidant activity. Same number as Supplementary Table 1"

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