The study of amino acid composition of roots of dandlion (<i>Taraxacum officinale</i> F.H. Wigg.) growing in the North Caucasus

Abstract

Aim. Being an integral part of proteins, amino acids are involved in all physiological processes in the human body. Plants being an accessible source of biologically active substances, there is a need to study medicinal plant raw material containing amino acids that are interchangeable and essential for the human body.
 Materials and methods. Air-dry roots of dandelion (Тaraxacum officinale Wigg.) collected on the slopes of mount Mashuk (Pyatigorsk) in April and September 2018 were studied. They were cleared of traces of soil. To determine the bound forms of amino acids the raw material was prepared by hydrolysis during heating. Data about the composition and amount of amino acids in the analyzed samples of dandelion roots were obtained by means of the system of capillary electrophoresis Drops-105. Processing of the data was carried out with the use of the computer program Multichrom for Windows.
 Results and discussion. 13 free amino acids were found in the roots of dandelion, of which 7 were nonessential (-alanine, glycine, serine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, arginine, proline) and 6 were essential amino acids (valine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, threonine, -phenylalanine). Bound amino acids were found to include 8 nonessential amino acids (-alanine, glycine, serine, tyrosine, arginine, Proline, glutamic and aspartic acid) and 6 essential ones (valine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, threonine, -phenylalanine). The amount of free and bound amino acids in the roots of dandelion collected in April is about 1.4% by weight of the raw material and reaches 3.5% in the roots collected in September.
 Conclusion. The qualitative and quantitative composition of amino acids in dandelion roots growing in the North Caucasus has been studied. The detected amino acids make a certain contribution to the total pharmacological effect of this type of medicinal plant raw material.