- 1Department of Analytical Chemistry, Medical University of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland.
- 2Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacodynamics, Medical University of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland.
Abstract
Chamomile has been used as an herbal
medication since ancient times and is still popular because it contains
various bioactive phytochemicals that could provide therapeutic
effects. In this study, a simple and reliable HPLC method was developed
to evaluate the quality consistency of nineteen chamomile samples
through establishing a chromatographic fingerprint, quantification of
phenolic compounds and determination of antioxidant activity. For
fingerprint analysis, 12 peaks were selected as the common peaks to
evaluate the similarities of commercial samples of chamomile obtained
from different manufacturers. A similarity analysis was performed to
assess the similarity/dissimilarity of chamomile samples where values
varied from 0.868 to 0.990 what indicating that samples from different
manufacturers were consistent. Additionally, simultaneous quantification
of five phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, ferulic)
and four flavonoids (rutin, myricetin, quercetin and keampferol) was
performed to interpret the quality consistency. In quantitative
analysis, the nine individual phenolic compounds showed good regression (r
> 0.9975). Inter- and intra-day precisions for all analyzed
compounds expressed as relative standard deviation (CV) ranged from
0.05% to 3.12%. Since flavonoids and other polyphenols are commonly
recognized as natural antioxidants, the antioxidant activity of
chamomile samples was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing/antioxidant power
(FRAP) assay. Correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship
between antioxidant activity and phenolic composition, and multivariate
analysis (PCA and HCA) were applied to distinguish chamomile samples.
Results shown in the study indicate high similarity of chamomile samples
among them, widely spread in the market and commonly used by people as
infusions or teas, as well as that there were no statistically
significant differences among them, which in turn is a proof of high
quality of commercially available samples of chamomile. The study
indicated that the combination of chromatographic fingerprint and
quantitative analysis can be readily utilized as a quality consistency
method for chamomile and related medicinal preparations. Moreover, the
applied strategy seems to be the most promising for the assessment of
the investigated plant material.
KEYWORDS:
Matricaria chamomilla L.; antioxidant activity; chemometric analysis; chromatographic fingerprint; plant polyphenols
