Abstract：
Crocus sativus L. (C. sativus) has its stigma as the main valuable part used. With extremely low production and high prices, stigma is considered a scarce resource. As a result, its petals, considered as by-products, are often discarded, leading to significant waste. We developed a UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS method for qualitative analysis of stigmas and petals and a UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of 9 characteristic active compounds for the first time, and compared their biological activity in vitro. The results indicated that a total of 63 compounds were identified in the petals and stigmas. The content of flavonoids in the petals was significantly superior to that in the stigma, and the content of quercetin in the petals was 50 times higher than that in the stigma. The results of the in vitro evaluation of biological activity indicated that both the petals （•OH: IC50=39.70 mg/mL; DPPH: IC50=28.37 mg/mL; ABTS: IC50=0.9868 mg/mL）and stigma （•OH: IC50=34.41 mg/mL; DPPH: IC50=38.99 mg/mL; ABTS: IC50=3.194 mg/mL）demonstrated comparable antioxidant activities. However, the tyrosinase inhibitory activity in petals （IC50=21.17 mg/mL） was weaker than that in stigma（IC50=1.488 mg/mL）. This study provides a fast, reliable, and efficient analytical method that can be used for the quality assessment of petals as a natural resource and its related products in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
摘要：
番红花L.（C.sativus）以其污名为主要有价值的部分。极低的产量和高昂的价格，污名被认为是一种稀缺资源。因此,它的花瓣，被认为是副产品，经常被丢弃，导致大量浪费。我们首次开发了用于柱头和花瓣定性分析的UPLC-Q-OrbitrapHRMS方法和用于9种特征活性化合物同时定量的UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS方法，并比较了它们的体外生物学活性。结果表明，在花瓣和柱头中总共鉴定出63种化合物。花瓣中的黄酮含量明显优于柱头中的黄酮，花瓣中槲皮素的含量是柱头中的50倍。体外生物活性评估结果表明，两个花瓣（•OH：IC50=39.70mg/mL；DPPH：IC50=28.37mg/mL；ABTS：IC50=0.9868mg/mL）和柱头（•OH：IC50=34.41mg/mL；DPPH：IC50=38.99mg/mL；ABTS：IC50=3.194mg/mL）均显示出相当的抗氧化活性。然而,花瓣中酪氨酸酶的抑制活性（IC50=21.17mg/mL）弱于柱头（IC50=1.488mg/mL）。这项研究提供了一种快速，可靠,和高效的分析方法，可用于食品和制药行业中作为自然资源的花瓣及其相关产品的质量评估。
