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The qualitative and quantitative chemical compositions of Astragalus vulpinus Willd. herb were investigated and included saponins, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid. Porsolt tests on white outbred male rats subjected to informational stress were used to study the psychomodulating effect of A. vulpinus herbal extract on their behavior. It was established that extract of A. vulpinus herb produced protective action under informational stress conditions by restoring changes of the psychoemotional status.

The composition profile of phenolic compounds (flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids) in Polygonum persicaria herb growing in Voronezh Region was studied using physicochemical methods (UV-SPM, HPLC-DAD-MS). The predominant constituents in the flavonoids were kaempferol and its derivatives; in hydroxycinnamic acids, chlorogenic acid. The identified constituents were quantitatively characterized.

Eulophia nuda Lindl. (Orchidaceae) is a small perennial terrestrial herb found in central and Southeast Asian regions usually known for its ethnomedicinal uses by folklore and local healers in India and different regions of the world. E. nuda tubers have been used for the treatment of tumors, scrofulous glands of neck, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchitis, blood diseases, vermifuge, etc. Phytochemical properties of this plant are not much explored. Very few compounds such as phenanthrene derivatives and benzylated phenanthrene derivatives have been isolated from this plant. Pharmacologically, this plant is active in respect of cytotoxic, antioxidant, antiglycation and DNAprotection properties. The traditional knowledge and various phytochemical and pharmacological activities of this plant have been at the focus of research. The aim of present review is to systematically appraise about the literature available till date on this plant about its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of its crude extract and isolated compounds.

Studies reported here evaluated the applicability of the Folin-Ciocalteu method for assessing total phenolic compounds in the complex phytopreparation Angionorm, which is based on dry extract of a mixture of medicinal herb substances (MHS), i.e., seeds (fruits) of the common horse chestnut, licorice roots, hawthorn fruits, and dog rose fruits at a ratio of 30:15:20:35, and preparation Prostanorm, consisting of a 50% aqueous-alcoholic extract of a mixture of four MHS, i.e., St. John’s wort herb, Canadian goldenrod herb, licorice root, Echinacea rhizomes and roots in equal proportions by weight, and a preparation consisting of a dry extract based on this mixture. The method was adapted to analysis of total polyphenol content in medicinal formulations using these preparations. The method was validated in terms of specificity, correctness, linearity, and similarity, and satisfied the suitability criteria. Total polyphenol contexts were assayed as gallic acid equivalents. A decolorization method using the cationic radical ABTS was used to determine the antiradical activity of Angionorm and Prostanorm in trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) units and in terms of the IC50 (the concentration inhibiting activity by 50%). A correlation was found between the total content of phenolic compounds and antiradical activity.

The accumulation of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in fresh Echinacea purpurea plants grown in a non-chernozem zone of Russia in 2009 – 2010 in addition to its component parts, juice, and pulp was analyzed as a function of age (2 – 7 years) and year of collection. Leaves accumulated the most ascorbic acid; stems, the least. The vitamin C concentration in juice from fresh plants collected in 2009 was much greater than that in the herb. The vitamin C content in juice from 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old plants collected in 2010 was the same as in the herb. Fresh pulp was characterized by a lower vitamin C content than the fresh plant and juice according to results from a two-year experiment.

The composition and content of the main biologically active substances (iridoids, flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids) of motherwort herb and related preparations were determined using HPLC-UV/MS. The antiradical activity of motherwort raw material and preparations was evaluated in an in vitro DPPH test. The obtained results showed that these methods could be used to evaluate the authenticity and quality of motherwort herb in addition to drugs, extracts, and food supplements based on it.

Chromato-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) studies of the chemical composition of a dense extract of the herb Alfredia cernua (L.) Cass. prepared by processing raw material with 95 % ethanol identified 31 aliphatic, including 2-hydroxy- and dicarboxylic, acids, three phenolcarboxylic acids, one di- and two triterpenoic acids, and 16 neutral lipophilic components. A total of 40 compounds were detected in Alfredia cernua for the first time. T maze experiments showed that the plant extract promoted changes in the motivational domain in normal animals, activating appetitive and consumatory behavior due to nootropic and anxiolytic actions, which were greater than those of piracetam.

Optimization of the extraction of biologically active substances from yellow toadflax produced data indicating that the active principles were extracted most completely from raw material if vacuum-filtration extraction was used. The process was carried out with heating at 42°C, infusion for 40 min, and solid:liquid phase ratio 1:10. The yield of extracted flavonoids under these conditions was 96.7% of the total content in the raw material; of iridoids, 93.8%. The selected parameters could be considered optimal and recommended as industrial processing parameters for further production of extracts and their integration into medical practice.

The accumulation of nitrates in fresh Echinacea purpurea herb grown in the conditions of the non-chernozem zone of the Russian F ederation in 2009 – 2010 were studied in its constituent parts, the juice, and the pulp, in relation to plant age (2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 years of growth) and year of analysis. The greatest accumulation of nitrates in the plant was seen in the stems. The highest nitrate content was seen in the juice, where levels were 1.4 – 2.7 times higher than in the medicinal plant raw material.

Flavonoids and phenolic acids isolated from the herbs of Melampyrum pretense (MP) and M. nemorosum (MN) (Scrophulariaceae) growing in the Ural region have been studied by two-dimensional paper chromatography. The phenolic complex of MP contains 23 compounds including 17 flavonoids and 6 phenolcarboxylic acids. The MN herb contains 9 flavonoids and 5 phenolcarboxylic acids. A comparison with reference samples showed the presence of cinaroside, luteolin, quercetin, hyperoside, and chlorogenic, caffeic, and ferulic acids. Differential UV spectra of the extracts of MP and MN herbs in the presence of aluminum chloride showed peaks at 395.6 and 398.7 nm, respectively, which have been used for quantitative determination of the flavonoids (recalculated for cinaroside). The maximum flavonoid content was found in the generative organs; the minimum, in the roots. It is established that the flavonoid content in various organs varies within 0.08–3.17% for MP and 0.04–2.29% for MN.

The composition of lipophilic fractions of homeopathic matrix tinctures of Urtica dioica L. (I) and U. urens L. (II) derived from freshly collected plants and dried (desiccated) material (herb and roots) was studid using GC-MS techniques. The analyses of n-hexane extracts of tincture I revealed 43 compounds (of which 27 were identified) whereas the analysis of the extract of tincture II revealed 28 compounds (21 identified). The extract from I contains fatty acids in the form of ethyl esters, terpenoids (apiol, eugenol), squalene, and some other substances. The main fatty acids are palmitic, linolenic, and nonadecanoic. Tincture of I obtained from a desiccated raw material contains ethyl esters of linoleic and 2,3-benzofurandicarboxylic acids, which are not found in II. Tincture obtained from freshly collected material contains greater amounts of ethyl esters of oleic, 9-oxononanoic, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acids, 3-ethyl-4-methyl-(1H)-pyrrol-2,5-dione, 5,6,7,7a-tetrahydro-2(4H)-benzofuranone, and eugenol. The extract of tincture II contains significant amounts of palmitic, linoleic, and linolenic acids and 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol. Some of the identified substances, including ethyl esters of heptadecenoic, arachic, 8,11-eicosadienoic, heneicosanoic, and behenic acids were detected only in the tincture from dried (desiccated) raw material. The lipophilic fraction of matrix tinctures from U. dioica root contain large amounts of linoleic, linolenic, and nonadecanoic acids and their isomers in addition to palmitic, myristic, 9-oxononanoic, and pentadecanoic acids. The content of identified components was greater in the tinctures from freshly collected material (except for squalene, the concentration of which increases by a factor of about four in the tincture prepared from desiccated material).

The qualitative and quantitative compositions of flavonoids (vicenin-2, luteolin-3′-di-O-glycoside, luteolin-7-O-glycoside, rutin, apigenin-7-O-glycoside, luteolin, apigenin) and chlorogenic acid in herb, leaves, and stems of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) samples collected in the Kaunas region of Lithuania have been studied by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It is established that these substances exhibit a characteristic distribution with predominant formation of apigenin-7-O-glycoside and luteolin-7-O-glycoside among the identified flavonoids in the herb of yarrow whereas the leaves contain predominantly chlorogenic acid, rutin, and apigenin-7-O-glycoside; the stems, predominantly chlorogenic acid, rutin, apigenin-7-O-glycoside, and luteolin-7-O-glycoside. The results can be used to choose selection donors of this medicinal plant material.

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography was used to determine the content of indole-3-carbinol in aerial parts of some plants from the family Brassicaceae. It was established that the herb of Brassica napus L. and the leaves of Brassica rapa L. had high contents of indole-3-carbinol (from 1.4 to 1.9%). In view of the potential use of Brassica napus as a source of anticancer compounds, reversed-phase HPLC was performed and revealed a significant content of flavonoids with the major aglycons quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin.

Quantitative and qualitative analyses of flavonoids in showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense L., Fabaceae) herbs during various vegetative phases were performed using HPLC techniques at the Department of Medicinal Herbs of the Kaunas Botanical Garden (Vytautas Magnus University). A total of 15 flavonoids of aglycone and glycoside nature was determined including apigenin, apigenin-7-O-glycoside, luteolin, rutin, 2-vicenin, vitexin, isovitexin, vitexin rhamnoside, orientin, homoorientin, quercitrin, quercetin, hyperoside, astragalin, and kaempferol. The maximum amount of identified flavonoids was observed during the flowering phase and was 2.45% in the second vegetative year and 1.28% in the sixth vegetative year, i.e., it decreased constantly during the plant perennial vegetation process. Of these, orientin and homoorientin varied from 45.9 to 38.9% of the total flavonoids; 2-vicenin, from 16.3 to 12.8; vitexin, from 12.7 to 8.6; isovitexin, from 13.0 to 7.7; rutin, from 11.6 to 6.9. The optimum collection time of showy tick trefoil herbs as plant raw material was the flowering and budding phases of herbs regrowing after mowing. The recommended optimal exploitation time of a plantation is up to six years.

The qualitative and quantitative contents of phenolic acids in the herb showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense (L.) D. C., Fabaceae) collected at different growth phases at the Department of Medicinal Herbs, Kaunas Botanical Garden, Vitautas the Great University, were studied. HPLC analysis identified five phenolic acids: chlorogenic, vanillic, 4-hydroxycinnamic, ferulic, and caffeic acids). The largest quantities of phenolic acids in the herb accumulated in the budding and flowering phases. These were dominated by vanillic acid (0.240 mg/g), caffeic acid (0.178 mg/g), and chlorogenic acid (0.120 mg/g), and the quantities of these acids gradually decreased during plant growth.

The Moldavian dragonhead Dracocephalum moldavica L., of the Lamiaceae family, is a grassy annual plant up to 80 cm tall. The herbaceous part contains an essential oil, flavonoids, iridoids, tannins, and hydroxycinnamic and carboxylic acids. The quantitative composition of the iridoid glycosides was studied using aqueous and alcoholic extraction of Moldavian dragonhead herb. Chromatography was performed on “Sorbfil” plates using a variety of solvent systems. Compounds were identified in terms of the luminescence-chromatographic characteristics of spots on chromatograms and Rf values. Extracts were found to contain from four to six iridoid compounds, of which spots with Rf values of 0.43 and 0.89 were identified as harpagide and harpagide acetate respectively. The quantitative contents of iridoid glycosides were evaluated by spectrophotometry based on estimation of the products of the hydroxamic reaction. Harpagide acetate was selected as the standard substance. The relative estimation error with confidence limits of 95% was ± 2.8%. The investigations reported here showed that the optimum conditions for estimating iridoid contents were as follows: particle size no greater than 1 mm with extraction of starting material with 70% ethanol at a ratio of 1:40 for 1 h in a boiling water bath. Iridoid contents were determined in Moldavian dragonhead herb prepared at the budding stage (0.11–0.27%), at mass flowering (0.18–0.51%), and at fruiting (0.04–0.30%); the greatest iridoid content (0.51%) in the herbaceous parts of the Dracocephalum moldavica was seen at the mass flowering phase.

We report here a many-year study of the qualitative and quantitative content of flavonoids in the reproductive organs of the showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense (L.) DC., Fabaceae) - stems, leaves, buds, inflorescences,pods, and seeds - collected at different phases of growth at the Department of Medicinal Plants, Kaunas Botanical Garden, Vytautas Magnus University. HPLC studies identified 15 aglycone and glycoside flavonoids: apigenin, apigenin-7-O-glycoside, luteolin, rutin, vicenin-2, vitexin, isovitexin, vitexin rhamnoside, orientin, homoorientin, quercetrin, quercetin, hyperoside, astralagin, and kaempferol. The largest quantities of flavonoids in the vegetative organs from year 2 to year 4 of plant growth were present in the leaves (2.64% and 2.61% at budding and flowering in the second year respectively), while during year 5 maximum quantities were present during budding, flowering, and the beginning of fruiting, during year 6 in budding, and during year 7 during regrowth and budding. In stems, the greatest flavonoid quantities accumulated during the second year of growth during budding and flowering (up to 0.61%). In the reproductive organs, the maximum quantities of flavonoids accumulated in the inflorescences during years 3 – 6 of growth, reaching 2.37% in the flowering phase in year 6. Thus, not only the herb part, but also the leaves of the showy tick trefoil can be used as raw material for herbal remedies. The optimum time for collecting leaves is during flowering, the onset of fruiting, and budding of regrowth after mowing, and the plantation lifetime is seven years.

A method for assaying total flavonoids in common agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria L.) herb based on differential spectrophotometry (analytical wavelength 403 nm) and cynaroside State Reference Compound (SRC) was developed. This method was used to analyze a series of raw material samples, which demonstrated that the flavonoid content of common agrimony herb ranged from 1.22% to 1.40% (expressed as cynaroside). Statistical analysis of these experiments showed that the error in single assays of total flavonoids in common agrimony herb was ± 4.02% at the 95% confidence level.