Abstract
The genus Cotoneaster consists of unarmed shrubs that naturally distributed in north parts of Iran. It is a problematic genus, and there are many discussions about its species number in Iran as well the World. Recently, M Khatamsaz has been listed 19 species of it in Iran. In the current research, we studied leaf flavonoid composition of seven Cotoneaster species from Iran. These species were harvested from the northern provinces of the country and their leaf ethanolic extracts were subjected to HPLC, for detection the types and amounts of their flavonoid compounds. We identified four flavonoid compounds: rutin, myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol. The concentration of these flavonoids differed between the species, moreover amount of each flavonoid also varied among the studied species. All of them were registered in the studied species, except for myricetin, which was not observed in C. nummularius. The highest amount of flavonoids were detected in C. nummularius, while C. discolor had the lowest one. The evaluated species divided into four distinct group in UPGMA tree. According to CA-Joined plot, each group was characterized by species amount of flavonoid(s). All of evaluated species belonged to the same section of the genus, therefore our findings revealed that the flavonoid data were useful at sectional level for identification of the species.
Highlights
The genus Cotoneaster Medik. belongs to the tribe Pyreae of the subfamily Spiraeoideae-Rosaceae (Potter et al 2007)
In the current study we investigated leaf flavonoid compounds of seven Iranian species of Cotoneaster in order to identify their flavonoid compounds and species relationship based on these data
Myricetin was not observed in C. nummularius, while its highest amount was reported from C. new (5.13 mg g-1)
Summary
The genus Cotoneaster Medik. belongs to the tribe Pyreae of the subfamily Spiraeoideae-Rosaceae (Potter et al 2007). Its species number varies and ranges from about 50 to over 400 (Niaki et al 2019). According to previous evaluations (Marshall and Brown 1981; Nogler 1984), the most prominent reason for the wide range of species number was the asexual seed production (apomixes) that is often associated with hybridization and polyploidy. Dickoré and Kasperek (2010) have suggested that Cotoneaster distribution is often scattered and mainly concentrated in the mountains of the meridional and nemoral zones, while its center of diversity is in China and the Himalayas. Cotoneaster is a problematic genus, mainly because it comprises nearly 500 published binomials. In Iran, these species are mainly distributed in the Alborz Mountains, high elevations in the northwest and northeast of the country (Raei Niaki et al 2009; Raei Niaki et al 2019)
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