STUDY OF AQUEOUS-ALCOHOLIC EXTRACTS OF LEONTOPODIUM KAMTSCHATICUM

Edelweiss (Leontopodium) is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family, growing in the subalpine and alpine zones of the high-mountain regions of Europe and Asia. Most species of this genus are found in the mountains of Central and East Asia. More than ten species grow in Siberia and the Russian Far East. In traditional medicine in different countries, edelweiss is used to treat various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart, lungs, and oncology. Researchers have studied the pharmacological activity and chemical composition of the European species Leontopodium alpinum or Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum most thoroughly. This paper examines the phenolic composition and antiradical activity of aqueous-alcoholic extracts of Leontopodium kamtschaticum, cultivated in the mountains of southern Siberia. The total content of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and tannins were determined by spectrophotometric method in aqueous and aqueous-alcoholic extracts with ethanol concentration of 20%, 40%, 70% and 95%. The antiradical activity of the extracts was also determined spectrophotometrically by reaction with stable radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. The total content of phenolic compounds has close values for extracts on ethyl alcohol of 20%, 40% and 70%. The greatest amount of tannins was determined in the aqueous extract, and flavonoids – in the extract on ethyl alcohol of 40%. The highest antiradical activity (about 31%) was established for the extract on ethyl alcohol of 40%, containing the greatest amount of flavonoids. The lowest antiradical activity was shown by the extract in 95% ethyl alcohol with the lowest total content of phenolic compounds.