Exploring New Antioxidant and Mineral Compounds from Nymphaea alba Wild-Grown in Danube Delta Biosphere.

Mihaela Cudalbeanu,Durand Dah-Nouvlessounon,Florentina Urlan,Teodor Costache,Iulia Elena Cucolea,Robert Raclea,Bianca Furdui,Rodica Mihaela Dinica,Ioana Otilia Ghinea

doi:10.3390/molecules23061247

Abstract

Nymphaea alba is an aquatic flowering plant from the Nymphaeaceae family that has been used for hundreds of years in traditional herbal medicine. The plant is characterized by different phytochemicals, depending on the geographical location. Herein, we have carried out, for the first time, the separation and HPLC-MS/MS identification of some antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols and flavonoids from N. alba extracts from the Danube Delta Biosphere, and investigated their possible antiradical properties. An ultrasonic method has been exhaustively used for the extraction of the antioxidant compounds from the different anatomic parts of N. alba (fruit, flower, leaf, stem, and root). The extracts that were obtained using ultrasound irradiation showed a large polyphenol (19.42 mg EqGA/100 mg extract) and flavonoid (0.97 mg EqQ/100 mg extract) content. The fruit and flower extracts showed the highest antioxidant activity index (AAI). Among the 27 phytochemical compounds identified in all of the N. alba extracts, rutin and p-coumaric acid were found as the major components. The content of macroelements and microelements in N. alba extracts were compared, and it was found that their concentrations depend on the different anatomic parts of the plant. This research contributes to the study of Nymphaeaceae family, being the first exhaustive phytochemical study of N. alba from a wild population in Romania.

Highlights

Nymphaea alba species (N. alba), known as the European white water lily, belongs to the Nymphaea genus and the Nymphaeaceae family [1,2]
The total polyphenol content was determined spectrophotometrically using gallic acid as the calibration standard for the N. alba fruit, flower, leaf, stem, and root extracts obtained by ultrasonic extraction
The N. alba samples were collected in June 2017 from the Somava-Parches, Lagoon Complex situated in the Danube Delta

Summary

Introduction

Nymphaea alba species (N. alba), known as the European white water lily, belongs to the Nymphaea genus and the Nymphaeaceae family [1,2]. Species from the Nymphaeaceae family, such as. These effects can be attributed to some phytochemical components from the polyphenol class, such as ellagic acid, gallic acid, and their methyl and ethyl esters, in addition to flavonoids such as quercetin or kaempferol [2,4]. Polyphenols and flavonoids are the largest group of phytochemical compounds and are omnipresent secondary metabolites amongst plants. People have used plants for infectious diseases, and scientific research has proved their therapeutic effects over time [5]

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Conclusion