Effect of extraction solvents on polyphenolic composition and antioxidant, antiproliferative activities of Himalyan bayberry (Myrica esculenta)

Himalyan bayberry (Myrica esculenta) fruit in Indian Himalayan region was evaluated for total polyphenol contents, antioxidant, and anticancer activities in 4 different solvent systems namely 80% each of methanol, acidicmethanol, acetone, and acidic-acetone to ensure the optimum recovery. Himalyan bayberry acidic-acetone (MeAA) extracts showed highest recovery of phenolics, flavonoids, freeradical scavenging, and ferric-reducing activities followed by acetone (MeA), acidic-methanol (MeAM), and methanol (MeM) extracts. Both MeA and MeAA extracts showed potent anticancer activities leading to 70-92% reduction in the viability of C33A, SiHa, and HeLa cells while exhibiting no cytotoxicity towards normal transformed cell lines. The RP-HPLC analysis revealed abundance of gallic acid [793.74 mg/100 g of fruit weight (f.w.) in MeA], myricetin (345.6 mg/100 g f.w. in MeAA), caffeic acid (246.6 mg/100 g f.w. in MeM), catechin (190.181 mg/100 g f.w. in MeAA) while traces of chlorogenic acid (17.67 mg/100 g f.w. in MeAA), transcinnamic acid (5.91 mg/100 g f.w. in MeA), p-coumaric acid (5.84 mg/100 g f.w. in MeA), and ellagic acid (2.21 mg/100 g f.w. in MeA) corroborating the high antioxidant and anticancer activities of Himalyan bayberry fruit extracts.