Phenolic Profile by HPLC-PDA-MS of Greek Chamomile Populations and Commercial Varieties and Their Antioxidant Activity

Abstract

The phenolic profile of Greek chamomile populations was investigated by HPLC-PDA-MS. For comparison, three commercial varieties (Banatska, Lutea and Goral) cultivated under the same conditions were included in the study. All samples exhibited similar qualitative patterns but differed in their quantitative characteristics. Overall, 29 constituents were detected, belonging to phenolic acids, flavonol glycosides, flavone glycosides (mainly apigenin derivatives) and acylated polyamines. Quantitative results showed that both Greek populations had a high content in apigenin derivatives (0.39 and 0.31 %w/w) and caffeoylquinic acids (0.96 and 0.81 %w/w), whereas they had the highest amount of flavonol glycosides among the tested samples. Greek populations were comparable to the Banatska variety, while they were superior to the Lutea and Goral varieties cultivated under the same conditions. Results demonstrate that Greek chamomile populations studied here, are an excellent source of a wide range of phenolics which contribute to the medicinal and antioxidant properties of this herbal remedy. Antioxidant tests showed that chamomile extracts from the studied materials, especially from the Greek populations possess antioxidant activity, corresponding to their polyphenol content. This is the first report on the phenolic constituents of Matricaria recutita growing in Greece and well-established chamomile varieties.

Keywords: Greek chamomile; HPLC-PDA-MS; Matricaria recutita; antioxidant activity; apigenin; phenolics.

Figure 1

Representative chromatograms of Matricaria recutita flos from Greece. Experimental conditions: column: Zorbax SBAq RP-C18 (150 × 3.0 mm), particle size 5µm (Agilent) at 30 °C. 1 Chlorogenic acid; 2 cis-2-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic-oxo-2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; 3 quercetagenin-3-O-glucoside; 4 trans-2-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic-oxo-2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; 5 quercetin-7-O-hexoside; 6 patuletin-7-O-glucoside; 7 patuletin-3-O-glucoside; 8 luteolin-7-O-glucoside; 9 dicaffeoylquinic acid derivative; 10 isorhamnetin-7-O-hexoside; 11 isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside; 12 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid; 13 apigenin-7-O-glucoside; 14 chrysoeriol-7-O-glucoside; 15 4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid; 16 Isorhamnetin-3-O-malonylhexoside tentatively; 17 acylated derivative of cis-2-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic-oxo-2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; 18 Isorhamnetin-7-O-malonylhexoside tentatively; 19 apigenin-7-O-malonylhexoside 20 apigenin-7-O-malonylhexoside + apigenin-7-O-acetylhexoside; 21 apigenin-7-acetylhexoside; 22 acylated derivative of trans-2-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic-oxo-2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; 23 apigenin-7-acetylhexoside isomer; 24 Apigenin-7-O-acetylmalonyl-hexoside; 25 Apigenin-7-O-acetylmalonyl-hexoside; 26 N1(Z)-N5(Z)-N10(Z)-N14(Z)-tetra-p-coumaroyl spermine/thermospermine (cis-isomers); 27 N1(Z)-N5(Z)-N9(Z)-N14(Z)- tetra-p-coumaroyl spermine/thermospermine (cis and trans-isomers); 28 N1(E)-N5(E)-N10(E)-N14(E)- tetra-p-coumaroyl spermine (trans-isomer); 29 N1(E)-N5(E)-N9(E)-N14(E)-tetra-p-coumaroyl thermospermine (trans-isomer).

Figure 2

Flavonoids and phenolics detected in Matricaria recutita flowers.

Figure 3

Acylated polyamines detected in Matricaria recutita flowers.

Figure 4

Total phenolic content (TPC, mg GAE/g extract), total flavonoid content (TFC, mg CATE/g extract) and antioxidant capacity (estimated by DPPH and ABTS assays, mg TE/g extract) of Matricaria recutita flowers; bars with the same color followed by the different letter were significantly different (α = 0.05).