Anthocyanin compositions and biological activities from the red petals of Korean edible rose (Rosa hybrida cv. Noblered)

► The extract of rose petals showed antioxidant, anticancer, and antiallergic activities. ► Two anthocyanins were identified from the red petals of Korean edible rose. ► Cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside was the predominant constituent. ► Cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside exhibited good scavenging activity against DPPH radical. ► Pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside showed potent anticancer effects. The objectives of the present study were to investigate anthocyanin profiles and their biological properties, including antioxidant, anticancer, and antiallergic, from the red petals of Korean edible rose (Rosa hybrida cv. Noblered). The acidic methanol extract of this species showed potent biological activities at a concentration of 50μg/mL. Its anthocyanins were characterised as cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside and pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside using reversed-phase C18 column chromatography, NMR spectroscopy, and HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis. Cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside was the predominant constituent (375mg/100g), representing about 85% of total content. Cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside exhibited good scavenging activity against DPPH radical with IC50 value of 55.2μg/mL; pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside showed potent anticancer effects against LNCap (human prostate cell line), ACHN (human renal cell line) and MOLT-4F (human leukaemia cell line) cell cultures, with IC50 values of 6.43, 18.3, and 6.78μg/mL, respectively. Antiallergic activities were only moderate.