Abstract
The phytochemical diversity of Melittis melissophyllum was investigated in terms of seasonal changes and age of plants including plant organs diversity. The content of phenolics, namely: coumarin; 3,4-dihydroxycoumarin; o-coumaric acid 2-O-glucoside; verbascoside; apiin; luteolin-7-O-glucoside; and o-coumaric; p-coumaric; chlorogenic; caffeic; ferulic; cichoric acids, was determined using HPLC-DAD. Among these, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, verbascoside, chlorogenic acid, and coumarin were the dominants. The highest content of flavonoids and phenolic acids was observed in 2-year-old plants, while coumarin in 4-year-old plants (272.06 mg 100 g–1 DW). When considering seasonal changes, the highest content of luteolin-7-O-glucoside was observed at the full flowering, whereas verbascoside and chlorogenic acid were observed at the seed-setting stage. Among plant organs, the content of coumarin and phenolic acids was the highest in leaves, whereas verbascoside and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were observed in flowers. The composition of essential oil was determined using GC-MS/GC-FID. In the essential oil from leaves, the dominant was 1-octen-3-ol, whilst from flowers, the dominant was α-pinene.
Highlights
IntroductionMelittis melissophyllum L. (Lamiaceae), is a wild-growing perennial plant occurring in the mixed forests and bright woodlands of the western, central, and southern parts of Europe [1]
Bastard balm, Melittis melissophyllum L. (Lamiaceae), is a wild-growing perennial plant occurring in the mixed forests and bright woodlands of the western, central, and southern parts of Europe [1].The plant has been long used in folk medicine
The content of luteolin-7-O-glucoside was the highest at the full flowering stage (1107.65 mg 100 g–1 dry weight (DW)), while the highest concentration of verbascoside and apiin was observed at the beginning of the seed-setting stage (599.86 and 156.22 mg 100 g–1 DW, respectively)
Summary
Melittis melissophyllum L. (Lamiaceae), is a wild-growing perennial plant occurring in the mixed forests and bright woodlands of the western, central, and southern parts of Europe [1]. The content of biologically active compounds changes in plants depending on their age, developmental stage, and plant organ. This is determined by the species and environmental factors influencing the growth of the plant [14,15,16]. It is important to consider these factors when regards the quality of plants’ raw materials used in the food and cosmetics industries Some aspects of this phenomenon, concerning seasonal changes of some phenolic compounds in M. melisophyllus herb have been previously reported [11,13]. These data are fragmented and are related only to the wild-growing plants. In this study, our primary objective was to investigate the chemical composition of M. melissophyllum in terms of both seasonal changes and plant age, considering the diversity of plant organs, using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array (HPLC-DAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS and GC-FID)
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