Study on Extraction and Antioxidant Activity of Lignin from Chinese Herbal Residues

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-829-5_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Chinese herbal residues; Lignin; Structural characterization; Antioxidant activity

Abstract

This study presents the first systematic investigation into the recovery of antioxidant lignins from pharmaceutical residues of seven Guangxi medicinal-food plants (Cinnamomum cassia, Star anise, Curcuma zedoaria, Millettia pavonica, Abutilon theophrasti, Zanthoxylum nitidum, and Amomum villosum) using an optimized acetic acid method. Through comprehensive characterization by Ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy(UV), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), and Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), we have revealed that these lignins are primarily composed of guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) structural units, forming typical G-S-type copolymers with molecular weights ranging from 2,750 to 9,200 Da. The extraction rate relative to Klason lignin ranged from 2.27% to 8.18%, with high purity levels between 61.52% and 92.23%, demonstrating significant interspecies variation. Notably, the lignin derived from Millettia pavonica exhibited outstanding antioxidant activity, with IC₅₀ values of 0.22, 0.50, and 1.91 mg/mL against DPPH∙, OH∙, and O₂⁻∙ radicals, respectively. This research not only provides novel insights into the structural characteristics and structure-activity relationships of underutilized medicinal plant lignins but also offers a sustainable approach for transforming pharmaceutical waste into high-value antioxidants, thereby proposing an innovative solution for biomass valorization.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Xiaoli Zhao
AU  - Xinqi Xiong
AU  - Zhanglan Xie
AU  - Kunting Qu
AU  - Shen Zhuo
AU  - Shuzhen Feng
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/08/28
TI  - Study on Extraction and Antioxidant Activity of Lignin from Chinese Herbal Residues
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Chemical Engineering and Biological Science (CEBS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 71
EP  - 79
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-829-5_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-829-5_9
ID  - Zhao2025
ER  -