eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 2333-1240 2014-07-02 2 7 349 356 10.12691/jfnr-2-7-4 JFNR2014274 article Kai Zhong 1 Xiao-Jie Li 1 An-Na Gou 1 Yi-Na Huang dir0932@sina.com; gao523@hotmail.com 2 Qian Bu 3 Hong Gao dir0932@sina.com; gao523@hotmail.com 3 College of Light Industry, Textile and Food Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China Department of Public Health, Hua Xi Medicinal Center of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China The Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaf has been traditionally taken as a vegetable and seasoning in . To disclose the mechanisms of its benefit for human health, antioxidant activity and cytoprotective effect of the leaf were investigated. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the strongest ABTS and DPPH radicals scavenging activities as compared with chloroform and water fractions, as well as the crude extract. This fraction exhibited a protective effect against hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells by MTT reduction assay. Furthermore, the cytoprotective effect was confirmed using flow cytometry analysis. Comparing with the model cells, the ethyl acetate fraction significantly increased G0/G1 and G2/M phase cells together with reducing S phase cells. Ten flavonoid glycosides were identified as isovitexin, vitexin, hyperoside, rutin, isoquercitrin, foeniculin, trifolin, quercitrin, astragalin, and afzelin from this fraction using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This is the first report for the presence of vitexin, isovitexin, astragalin, trifolin and afzelin in Z. bungeanum. Hence, the results present here suggest the potential utility of Z. bungeanum leaf as a source of natural antioxidant due to its diversity and high content of flavonoids. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfnr/2/7/4/jfnr-2-7-4.pdf Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaf antioxidant oxidative damage cytoprotection flavonoid glycoside