Callitriche cophocarpa — a new rich source of active phenolic compounds

Abstract

Abstract This study was focused on the analysis of the contents (by HPLC-DAD) and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds of aquatic higher plant Callitriche cophocarpa. The novelty of the work was: 1) the study of the species which is almost unknown in the context of investigations of bio-active compounds and, 2) the application of a unique L-band electron resonance spectroscopy (L-band EPR) to measure antioxidant activity of samples. The results were compared with those obtained for microalgae Chlorella and Spirulina which are widely distributed as the diet supplements. The obtained results are very promising with respect to the freeze-dried material of Callitriche, which revealed both high level of phenolic compounds (33 mg g−1 dry weight) and antioxidant activity (0.14 g of reduced DPPH· g−1 dry weight). An isoform of sinapic acid appeared to be the main fraction in this sample. The average content of the total phenolic compounds in Callitriche freeze-dried samples was ca. 43 or 25 times higher than in the case of the Chlorella or Spirulina samples, respectively. These samples showed also 16 times lower scavenging activity in relation to freeze-dried Callitriche material.