STUDY ON THE CONTENT OF POLYPHENOLS IN SOME PLANTS FROM THE SPONTANEOUS FLORA FROM THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA OF SUCEAVA COUNTY

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards natural remedies and treatments, based on plants and plant extracts. In the mountain area of Suceava county there are plants that the locals use for therapeutic purposes, but which are very little known, or are not known as medicinal plants. Among them are Sorbus aucuparia, used as a tonic and energizer, in the form of wine, Carlina acaulis, popularly used to relieve coughs or the Centaurea Jacea, used as a remedy for liver diseases. Among the recently researched bioactive compounds are polyphenols, a large category of natural organic compounds, characterized by multiple phenolic groups. Recent studies associate the presence of polyphenols in medicinal plants with a multitude of health benefits, many of them due to the antioxidant potential of polyphenols, which explains their role in the prevention of several major chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, type II diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, age-related cognitive disorders or osteoporosis, along with the anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial effects of polyphenols. The aim of the study is to identify and determine the content of polyphenols in ethanolic, ethereal and benzene extracts of fruits of Sorbus aucuparia, of Carlina acaulis flowers and leaves and Centaurea jacea, flowers, leaves and stems. The fruits of Sorbus aucuparia contain significant amounts of polyphenols: gallic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, rosmarinic acid, myricetin and a very high amount of quercetin, surpassed only by black elderberry, according to current data. Gallic acid and vanillic acid also occur in the aerial parts of Carlina acaulis, along with chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, rosmarinic acid, quercetin and kaempferol, in varying proportions between flowers and leaves. The presence of gallic acid and vanillic acid is noted in all aerial parts of Centaurea jacea, as well as chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid and kaempferol. Significant amounts of rosmarinic acid, myricetin and quercetin occur in greater quantity in the flowers and less in the other aerial parts. The determinations made recommend the advanced study of these plants in order to use them as health remedies.