Key words: subcritical water, extraction, olive leaves (Olea europaea L.), polyphenols, anti-acetylcholinesterase activity, Ellman’s method, Alzheimer’s disease
The content of secondary plant metabolites (the sum of polyphenolic compounds and
flavonoids) obtained by subcritical water (SubCW) and traditional extraction by wateralcoholic
mixture from olive (Olea europaea) leaves was studied, and their
acetylcholinesterase (anti-AChE) activity was determined and characterized by the IC50
value — the concentration of olive leaf extracts, which leads to 50 % inhibition of the
activity of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme. It was shown that the content of
polyphenolic compounds and anti-AChE activity of extracts depend on the used
extraction method. The SubCW extract obtained at 220 °C contains the maximum
amount of polyphenolic compounds and demonstrates the highest anti-AChE activity
(IC50 = 0.4 mg/ml). The least active in relation to the inhibition of the AChE enzyme
was found to be the extract obtained by traditional aqueous-alcoholic extraction
(IC50 = 3.6 mg/ml). The results obtained show the promise of using subcritical water
to obtain extracts with a high content of polyphenols for the development of
pharmaceutical products and food additives for the prevention and treatment of various
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, from the waste of olive oil
production (olive leaves).
doi:10.1134/S1990793121080108