Bioactive compounds and health-promoting capacity of some Caucasian endemic and rare medicinal plants
2012
Manukyan, A.
Despite the growth of the synthetic medicine production, there is a growing demand for herbal remedies for the world market. At the same time, in the last decades there has been a sharp increase of anthropogenic influence on the flora; particularly some rare and endangered herbs are more and more collected from wild populations in many regions of the world, also in Caucasian region, for local demand and export. The Caucasus is one of the richest and most threatened mountainous reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth. The aim of this work is to study the content and the composition of biologically active compounds (essential oils, carotenoids, polyphenols, alkaloids and dianthrone derivatives) and their antioxidant capacity, as well as the lipid peroxidation potential of different eco races of some Caucasian endemic, rare, endangered and valuable medicinal plants as thyme (Thymus transcaucasicus), St John’s-wort (Hypericum eleonorae) and knapweed (Centaurea hajastana). The metabolite profiles of these herbs were analyzed by GC/MS and HPLC. Bioactive compounds were quantified and their health-promoting properties were analyzed in bioassays. It was shown that the content, composition, antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation potential of studied biologically active compounds significantly depends on plant provenances (eco races). Such research can provide new important knowledge about the bioactive compounds and their pharmacological effects of the most promising ecotypes of selected Caucasian endemic and rare species. It can also make significant contribution in discovering new effective drugs.
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