Determination of some numerical indicators of different types of plant raw materials of Onopordum acanthium L.

Abstract

Introduction. Today, the popularity of phytochemical research has been steadily increasing. Plants of the Asteraceae family have attracted considerable attention. The genus Onopordum of the Asteraceae family includes over 50 species, which are widespread in Eurasia, northern Africa and are invasive in North America. The chemical composition and biological properties of the plant raw material of Onopordum acanthium have been most extensively studied. Plant raw material of Onopordum acanthium contains soluble sugars, inulin, proteins, fatty oil, saponins, sesquiterpene lactones, triterpenes, sterols, phenolic compounds (phenolcarboxylic acids, coumarins, flavonoids, tannins) and alkaloids. Extracts from plant raw material have traditionally been used as a bactericidal, cardiotonic, hemostatic and diuretic agent, for the treatment of nervousness, as an antitumor agent, and for the treatment of inflammation of the bladder, respiratory and urinary systems. We conducted marketing research on domestic producers of Onopordum acanthium plant raw materials (grass, flowers and fruits are available) and dietary supplements with extracts from this plant. The aim is to determine the quantitative content of total polyphenols, total hydroxycinnamic acids and total flavonoids in Onopordum acanthium plant raw materials of different phenological phases of harvesting. Materials and methods. Plant raw materials were harvested in the corresponding phases of vegetation from wild specimens of Onopordum acanthium in the summer of 2025 in the village of Velyka Babka, Chuhuyiv district, Kharkiv region (series 1), the village of Trybusivka, Tulchyn district, Vinnytsia region (series 2) and on the outskirts of Nizhyn, Chernihiv region (series 3). Leaves and stem before the beginning of flowering in the vegetative phase (May), stem leaves and stem in the mass flowering phase (June), fruits in the mass fruiting phase (July) with subsequent air-shade drying. The quantitative content of total polyphenols in terms of pyrogallol, of total hydroxycinnamic acids in terms of chlorogenic acid and of total flavonoids in terms of hyperoside was determined according to the method of the State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine (SPhU) 2.0. Results and discussion. The obtained results of determining the quantitative content of each of the BAS groups are comparable for each of the plant raw material series. For all types of plant raw materials and all series, the following pattern is observed: the content of total polyphenols>the content of total flavonoids>the content of total hydroxycinnamic acids. The highest content of BAS is observed in the leaves in the mass flowering phase: the content of total polyphenols in terms of pyrogallol is the highest of the determined groups of compounds and ranges from 7.14 ± 0.02 % (series 3) to 7.85 ± 0.02 % (series 2); the content of total hydroxycinnamic acids in terms of chlorogenic acid is 1.04 ± 0.01 % (series 3) – 1.54 ± 0.01 % (series 2). The content of total flavonoids in terms of hyperoside ranges from 4.13 ± 0.02 % (series 1) to 5.02 ± 0.02 % (series 2). Conclusions. For the first time in domestic series of a number of types of plant raw materials of Onopordum acanthium from different places of collection, the quantitative content of total polyphenols, total hydroxycinnamic acids and total flavonoids was determined. The dynamics of the accumulation of each group of BAS was traced depending on the vegetation phase and place of growth. The lower limits of the quantitative content of each group of BAS in each type of plant raw material were also established. The most attractive in this regard are leaves in the mass flowering phase, for which the content of total polyphenols was not lower than 7.1 %, total hydroxycinnamic acids was not lower than 0.54 %, total flavonoids – not lower than 4.15 %.