LEAF PRODUCTIVITY OF SHOOTS, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROSPECTIVE BIOACTIVITY OF CELASTRUS SPECIES INTRODUCED INTO MOSCOW REGION

Plants are known to contain chemical constituents of great physiological activity, some of them are antioxidants or possess anti-cancer properties. The presence of these constituents in renewable plant parts – fruits and leaves – is particularly valuable. A search for plants with pronounced medicinal properties, including anti-cancer, within local floras or among cultivated plants that have passed introductory trials successfully, is of great relevance. An example of such plants introduced in Moscow region is the genus Celastrus and its representatives. Our research is aimed at revealing plants with the highest leaf productivity of shoots and contents of bioactive substances in the leaves within this genus. The research encompassed 6 taxa from the genus Celastrus grown in the Arboretum of the Main Botanic Garden named after N.V. Tsitsin RAS. For the study, 19-20 highly elongated annual shoots per plant of each taxon were collected, their leaf weight and morphometric characteristics were recorded, and the results processed by means of variation statistics. For biochemical studies, frozen leaf samples were analyzed by methods of high-performance liquid chromatography with UV and mass-detection. Spectral data of constituents prevailing in methanol extracts were obtained. Main classes of compounds found in leaves of the studied taxa were flavonoid glucosides: the derivatives of quercetin and kaempferol as well as condensed tannins, catechin and afzelechin derivatives. A comparative analysis demonstrated that C. flagellaris, C. strigillosus and C. orbiculatus var. punctatus, containing afzelechin and its derivatives in their leaves, can be recommended as promising plants for future investigations.