THE CONTENT OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN THE FRUITS OF LONICERA CAERULEA L. AND ITS SUBSPECIES IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE SOUTH URAL BOTANICAL GARDEN

Blue honeysuckle is a valuable berry plant, the culture of which has begun to develop actively in recent years in countries with a temperate climate. The value of this species is due to the early ripening period of fruits, high content of vitamin C and biologically active phenolic compounds. The purpose of the study: a comparative study of biologically active phenolic compounds in the fruits of some representatives of the genus Lonicera L. The objects of the study were Lonicera caerulea L. and its subspecies: Lonicera caerulea subsp. edulis and Lonicera caerulea subsp. altaica of the genus Lonicera L. collections of the South Ural Botanical Garden. For the analysis, the fruits of these taxa collected during the full ripening phase and dried to an air-dry state were used. Microscopic examination was carried out to describe the diagnostic signs of raw materials. Rutin and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside were detected by thin-layer chromatography. According to the results of the analyses carried out, Lonicera caerulea (2.78%) was noted as the highest in terms of flavonoid content. Lonicera caerulea subsp. altaica has the highest anthocyanin index (2.17%), which is almost twice as high as Lonicera caerulea subsp. edulis (1.14%). The conducted study with a certain degree of reliability suggests the presence of carotenoids in the fruits of the studied honeysuckle and allows us to recommend them as promising sources of raw materials for the production of biologically active substances.