Molecules. 2017 Feb 24;22(3). pii: E348. doi: 10.3390/molecules22030348.
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- Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, Franje Kuhača 20, 31000 Osijek, Croatia. mmolnar@ptfos.hr.
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- Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Split, R. Boškovića 35, 21000 Split, Croatia. igor@ktf-split.hr.
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- Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Osijek, Huttlerova 4, 31000 Osijek, Croatia. dragica.suknovic@gmail.com.
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- Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, Franje Kuhača 20, 31000 Osijek, Croatia. bbilic@ptfos.hr.
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- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Branch, Veterinary Institute Vinkovci, Josipa Kozarca 24, 32100 Vinkovci, Croatia. k2aladic@gmail.com.
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- Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, Franje Kuhača 20, 31000 Osijek, Croatia. drago.subaric@ptfos.hr.
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- Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek, Franje Kuhača 20, 31000 Osijek, Croatia. stela.jokic@ptfos.hr.
Abstract
Six medicinal plants Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don, Angelica archangelica L., Lavandula officinalis L., Salvia officinalis L., Melilotus officinalis L., and Ruta graveolens L. were used. The aim of the study was to compare their extracts obtained by Soxhlet (hexane) extraction, maceration with ethanol (EtOH), and supercritical CO₂ extraction (SC-CO₂) targeted on coumarin content (by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection, HPLC-UV), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging capacity, and total phenols (TPs) content (by Folin-Ciocalteu assay). The highest extraction yields were obtained by EtOH, followed by hexane and SC-CO₂. The highest coumarin content (316.37 mg/100 g) was found in M. officinalis EtOH extracts, but its SC-CO₂ extraction yield was very low for further investigation. Coumarin was also found in SC-CO₂ extracts of S. officinalis, R. graveolens, A. archangelica, and L. officinalis. EtOH extracts of all plants exhibited the highest DPPH scavenging capacity. SC-CO₂ extracts exhibited antiradical capacity similar to hexane extracts, while S. officinalis SC-CO₂ extracts were the most potent (95.7%). EtOH extracts contained the most TPs (up to 132.1 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g from H. italicum) in comparison to hexane or SC-CO₂ extracts. TPs content was highly correlated to the DPPH scavenging capacity of the extracts. The results indicate that for comprehensive screening of different medicinal plants, various extraction techniques should be used in order to get a better insight into their components content or antiradical capacity.
KEYWORDS:
antiradical capacity; coumarin; extraction; medicinal plants; supercritical CO2 extraction
