Jujube honey is rich in phenolic compounds and has good antioxidant activity.

Yang Erlin and Cao Wei of Northwestern University’s School of Food Science and engineering and Zhao Haoan of Northwestern University’s School of chemical engineering studied jujube nectar from four regions: Jianxian, Fugu, Dali County and Weinan, the physical and chemical indexes and the content of phenolic compounds were determined, the antioxidant activity in vitro, protective effect on oxidative damage of plasmid DNA and oxidative damage of mouse lymphocyte DNA induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were studied.

The results showed that the contents of physical and chemical indexes of jujube nectar in Shaanxi accord with the national standards. The results of HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS showed that there were 15 phenolic compounds in jujube nectar, including 4 phenolic acids and 11 flavonoid acids. In vitro experiments showed that Shanxi jujube nectar not only had strong DPPH free radical scavenging ability, Fe 2 + complexing ability and FE 3 + reducing ability, it also has significant protective effect on oxidative damage of plasmid DNA and oxidative damage of mouse lymphocyte DNA induced by H2O2. The research results provide basis for the development and utilization of jujube nectar resources.

1. Physical and chemical index of jujube nectar

2. Content of phenolic compounds in jujube nectar

 Fifteen phenolic compounds including protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and 7-hydroxycoumarin were detected in jujube nectar samples, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 7-hydroxycoumarin and α-twisting seed element are the 6 phenolic compounds with high content in jujube nectar. Protocatechuic acid was 0.11ー0.16 mg/kg, the highest average content of protocatechuic acid in 4 areas. It has been found that protocatechuic acid can protect liver from chemical toxicity through anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation and blocking oxidative stress signal transduction.

3. Antioxidant activity of jujube nectar in vitro

The content of total phenol in jujube nectar was 196.55ー454.95 mg/kg, and the content of total phenol in jujube nectar was significantly higher in southern Shaanxi (Dali County, Weinan) than in northern Shaanxi (Jia County, Fugu)(p < 0.05) .

The content of total phenol in jujube nectar was positively correlated with Fe 3 + reduction (R = 0.804) , which indicated that the phenolic compounds had strong reduction and antioxidant activity in jujube nectar.

4. The protective effect of jujube nectar on the oxidative damage of pBR322 plasmid DNA induced by OH

Jujube nectar had protective effect on oh-induced oxidative damage of PBR322 plasmid DNA, the relative content of DNA double helix was 20.19% ~ 57.25% .

5. The protective effect of jujube nectar on H2O2-induced oxidative damage of lymphocyte DNA in mice

Normal cells (control cells) were round in shape with no obvious DNA damage, and the relative DNA content in the tail was only 2.07% . When the cells were treated with H2O2, the comet tail of the cells was obvious, and the relative DNA content in the tail was 73.13% , the results showed that 0.2 g/mL jujube nectar could significantly inhibit the tailing phenomenon, and the relative DNA content in the tail was 24.20% , which suggested that jujube nectar could protect the mice from oxidative DNA damage induced by H2O2, and the mice from oxidative DNA damage induced by H2O2.

Source: Food Science, Vol. 42, No. 3, analysis of phenolic compounds in jujube nectar, by Yang Erlin, Zhao haoan, et al. . 2021

Delee Honey is derived from Deli Foods and has been focusing on the production and export of natural honey for decades. All of our honey has traceability control procedures, strictly identifying and controlling products. Supplying natural, safe, and healthy honey is our goal. We have more than 200 apiaries scattered in various regions of China, and each apiary has an average of 200 hives.

We mainly manufacture Vitex honey、Acacia honey 、Longan honey、Jujube honey 、Sidr honey、Linden honey、Sunflower honey 、Rapeseed honey and Bee products.