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. 2021 Jun 19;26(12):3741.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26123741.

Impact of Harvest Conditions and Host Tree Species on Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts from Viscum album L

Wioleta Pietrzak  1 , Renata Nowak  1
Affiliations

Impact of Harvest Conditions and Host Tree Species on Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts from Viscum album L

Wioleta Pietrzak et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

The content of plant secondary metabolites is not stable, and factors such as the region/location effect and seasonal variations have an impact on their chemical composition, especially in parasitic plants. Research in this area is an important step in the development of quality parameter standards of medicinal plants and their finished products. The effects of the time and place of harvest and the host tree species on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of mistletoe extracts were investigated. Statistical tools were used to evaluate the results of the spectrophotometric and LC-ESI-MS/MS studies of the phenolic composition and antioxidant activity. The investigations indicate that the qualitative and quantitative composition, influencing the biological activity of mistletoe extracts, largely depends on the origin of the plant. The mistletoe extracts exhibited a rich phenol profile and high antioxidant activity. The chemometric analysis indicated that mistletoe collected from conifers (Viscum abietis and Viscum austriacum) had the most advantageous chemical composition and antioxidant activity. Moreover, the chemical profile and biological activity of the plant material were closely related to the climatic conditions and location of the harvested plant. Higher levels of phenolic compounds and high antioxidant activity were found in extracts obtained from plant material collected in cold weather with the presence of snow and less sunshine (autumn-winter period).

Keywords: LC-MS analysis; Viscum album; antioxidant activity; polyphenols.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total phenolic content (TPC; mg GA/g of dry extract), flavonoid content (TFC; mg Q/g of dry extract) and antioxidant activity (EC50; mg dry extract/mg of DPPH) of methanol extracts from mistletoe (from Populus nigra L.) harvested at various time in Olszowiec region.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dendrogram showing similarity of mistletoe extracts obtained from different host trees with a calibrated axis of the binding distance and with the 66% criterion of Sneath.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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