Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Potential of Wild-Growing Plant Materials of the North Caucasus Region

Abstract

The article presents the results of studying the qualitative composition and quantitative content of some groups of phenolic compounds in 11 types of medicinal plants growing in the foothills of the North Caucasus, and provides the estimates of the antioxidant activity of extracts from these plants. The qualitative and quantitative content of phenolic compounds was determined using a Kapel-105M capillary electrophoresis system, and the total antioxidant activity of the extracts was measured on a Tsvet Yauza-01-AA device with an amperometric detector. In the studied plant samples, the total content of tannins was determined, eight phenolcarbonic acids were identified and quantified, as well as quercetin and rutin — two of the most important flavonols. The highest total content of phenolcarbonic acids (11,776.2 mg/kg), as well as the highest antioxidant activity were noted in the aqueous extract obtained from Echinacea purpurea (lat. Echinacea angustifolia). The direct relationship between the antioxidant activity of the studied medicinal raw material and the content of phenolic compounds has been experimentally established as follows: the higher is the concentration of phenolic substances, the higher is the antioxidant activity. The results of this study provide new information on the composition and content of phenolic compounds in some types of wild-growing plant raw materials of the North Caucasus and the antioxidant activity of extracts based thereon that will facilitate the use of the studied plants as a potential source of natural antioxidants in the production of functional materials.