Evaluation of bark phytochemical composition of the genus Sorbus plants as a source of biologically active compounds

Abstract

Phytocompounds have attracted considerable scientific interest due to their promising healing properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Plants of the genus Sorbus L. are well known in traditional medicine, but the constituents responsible for the pharmacological activity of herbal preparations have not yet been sufficiently identified. In this work, the composition of non-phenolic phytocomponents in the bark of natural for Ukraine Sorbus plants was investigated. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 33, 39, and 36 phytocompounds belonging to alkanes, aldehydes, alcohols, fatty acids and their esters, ketones, terpenoids and nitrogen-containing compounds were identified in extracts of the bark of Sorbus domestica L., S. aucuparia L., and S. torminalis (L.) Crantz., respectively. The largest classes of compounds were alkanes in the bark of S. domestica, and terpenoids in the bark of S. aucuparia and S. torminalis. Extracts of S. aucuparia were dominated by tetracyclic terpenoid ethyl isoallocholate (12.44% of the total), while the pentacyclic terpenoids lupeol (15.71%) and alpha-amyrin (7.41%) were predominant in S. torminalis and S. domestica extracts, respectively. Many of the compounds identified in Sorbus bark extracts are well known for their biological activities, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective and anti-arthritic effects. The study results indicate that the bark of the genus Sorbus plants is a promising source of phytocompounds with significant bioactive potential.