Quantification of some secondary metabolites in selected Cornaceae species / Stanovenie vybraných sekundárnych metabolitov v niektorých druhoch čeľade Cornaceae

Abstract

Abstract Leaves of selected species of the Cornaceae family (Swida alba, Swida australis, Swida controversa, Swida coreana, Swida baileyi, Cornus kousa, Cornus mas) were investigated in this study. These shrubs or small trees with hard wood are cultivated in Slovakia (Tesarske Mlyňany Arboretum). Some species (C. mas and C. kousa) have edible fruits. Cornels find broad ethnopharmacological use, for example, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where fruits of C. officinalis are used for the treatment of several disorders, such as organ hypersecretion or diabetes. They are also used as tonics and for astringent effects. Leaves and fruits of C. kousa have been reported to possess antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties. The aim of our study is to compare the content of selected secondary metabolites groups in the leaves of above-mentioned species. The plant material was collected in the Tesarske Mlyňany Arboretum, Slovakia, in September 2010. Modified spectrophotometric methods of the European Pharmacopoeia, 8th edition (Ph. Eur. 8) were used for all assays. Results show that the total hydroxycinnamic derivatives (THD) content varied from 1.14 (S. alba) to 2.86% (S. coreana) when expressed as rosmarinic acid, and from 1.01 (S. alba) to 2.55% (S. coreana) when expressed as caffeic acid. The flavonoids content ranged from 0.21 (C. mas) to 1.37% (S. coreana), total polyphenols content from 9.6 (C. kousa) to 7.27% (S. coreana), and tannins content from 7.17 (C. kousa) to 4.04% (S. coreana). Leaves of Korean dogwood (S. coreana) were observed to show the highest content of THD expressed as rosmarinic acid (2.86%) and caffeic acid (2.55%), as well as of flavonoids (1.37%). Kousa dogwood (C. kousa) contained the highest amounts of tannins (7.17%) and total polyphenols (9.6%) on the other hand.