Investigation of Phenolic Constituents in Echinacea purpurea Grown in China

Abstract

Echinacea is a North American native medicinal herb. In 1990 s, it was introduced in China. Nowadays, Echinacea is growing successfully in a number of places in China, and has been used as a crude drug. However, the phytochemical variation in the plant grown in China has not been studied. In this study, the contents of total phenolics and caffeic acid derivatives in aerial parts and roots of Echinacea purpurea grown in China were investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and colorimetric analysis. The effects of different drying methods on the components were also studied. The results show that the content of caffeic acid derivatives in E. purpurea reached its highest in the middle stage of full blossoming. The content of caffeic acid derivatives in fresh raw material was generally higher than that in dried raw material. There was no significant difference in the content of caffeic acid derivatives among three geographical populations of E. purpurea. Furthermore, the developmental pattern of total phenolics in E. purpurea was the same as that of caffeic acid derivatives. The stage of mid-bloom is an optimal harvesting period for both caffeic acid derivatives and total phenolics. In addition, the results show that the fresh raw material is the optimal material for pharmaceutical purposes, and that the optimal pharmaceutical parts are the roots, leaves and flowers.

Echinacea purpurea Moench - Asteraceae - phenolics - caffeic acid derivatives - HPLC

References

• 1 McGregor R L. The taxonomy of the genus Echinacea (Compositae).  Univ Kans Sci Bull. 1968;  48 113.
• 2 Perry N B, Wills R BH, Stuart D L. Factors affecting Echinacea quality: Agronomy and processing.  Boca Raton, FL: CRC. Press;  2004 111-26.
• 3 Schulthess B H, Ginger E, Baumann T W. Echinacea: anatomy, phytochemical pattern, and germination of the achene.  Planta Med. 1991;  57 384.
• 4 Bauer R. Standardization of Echinacea purpurea expressed juice with reference to cichoric acid and alkamides.  J Herbs Spices Med Plants. 1999;  6 51-62.
• 5 Barrett B. Medicinal properties of Echinacea .  Phytomedicine. 2003;  10 66-86.
• 6 Bukovsky M, Vaverkova S, Kostalova D. Immunomodulating activity of Echinacea gloriosa L., Echinacea angustifolia DC., and Rudbeckia speciosa Wenderoth ethanol-water extracts.  Pol J Pharmacol. 1995;  4 175-7.
• 7 Bergeron C, Gafner S, Batcha L L, Angerhofer K. Stabilization of caffeic acid derivatives in Echinacea purpurea L. glycerin extract.  J Agric Food Chem. 2002;  50 3967-70.
• 8 Hu C, Kitts D D, Zawistowski J. The chemistry of antioxidant constituents of Echinacea . Boca Raton, FL; CRC Press 2004: 73-89.
• 9 Thygesen L, Thulin J, Mortensen A, Skibsted L H, Molgaard P. Antioxidant activity of cichoric acid and alkamides from Echinacea purpurea, alone and in combination.  Food Chem. 2006;  101 74-81.
• 10 Percival S. Use of Echinacea in medicine.  Biochem Pharmacol. 2000;  60 155.
• 11 Dou D M, Cui S Y, Cao Y J, Yan Y J, Shuai F. Assaying of cichoric acid in introducing plant of Echinacea purpurea .  J Chin Traditional Herb Drugs. 2001;  32 977-8.
• 12 Nigel B P, Elaine J B, Leanne G V. Echinacea standardization: analytical methods for phenolic compounds and typical levels in medicinal species.  J Agric Food Chem. 2001;  49 1702-6.
• 13 Gary D E, Pallardy S G, Garrett H E, Rottinghaus G E. Acute drought stress and plant age effects on alkamide and phenolic acid content in purple coneflower roots.  Planta Med. 2003;  69 50-5.
• 14 Perry N B, van Klink J W, Burgess E J, Parmenter G A. Alkamide levels in Echinacea purpurea: effects of processing, drying and storage.  Planta Med. 2000;  66 54-6.
• 15 USP29-NF24. Washington, D.C; The U. S. Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc. press 2006: 2318-21
• 16 Luo X B, Chen B, Yao S Z, Zeng J G. Simultaneous analysis of caffeic acid derivatives and alkamides in roots and extracts of Echinacea purpurea by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection-electrospray mass spectrometry.  J Chromatogr A. 2003;  986 73-81.
• 17 Federica P, Stefania B, Michele M, Todd L. Variability in the composition of anti-oxidant compounds in Echinacea species by HPLC.  Phytochem Anal. 2005;  16 77-85.
• 18 Shahidi F, Naczk M. Folin-Denis assay. Food phenolics: source, chemistry, effects, applications. Lancaster, PA; Technomic Publishing Co., Inc. Press 1995: 292.
• 19 Miao Z L. The cultivation techniques of Echinacea .  Li Shizhen Med Material Med Res. 2006;  17 482.
• 20 Guan Y M, Wang J, You H L, Liu X. A study on the changing rule for total flavonoids in Ginkgo leaves in different climate season and age.  Chin Traditional Pat Med. 2000;  22 368-70.
• 21 Cheng S Y, Gu M R, Shu H R. Advance in the study of the formation and regulation of flavonoids Ginkgo biloba leaves.  Resour Sci. 2000;  22 46-8.
• 22 Binns S E, Livesey J F, Arnason J T, Baum B R. Phytochemical variation in Echinacea from roots and flowerheads of wild and cultivated populations.  J Agric Food Chem. 2002;  50 3673-87.
• 23 Binns S E, Arnason J T, Baum B R. Phytochemical variation within populations of Echinacea angustifolia (Asteraceae).  Biochem Syst Ecol. 2002;  30 837-54.
• 24 Wang S Y, Zhang W. Effect of plant growth temperature on antioxidant capacity in strawberry.  J Agric Food Chem. 2001;  49 4977-82.
• 25 Wills R BH, Stuart D L. Alkylamide and cichoric acid levels in Echinacea purpurea grown in Australia.  Food Chem. 1999;  67 385-8.
• 26 Nusslein B, Kurzmann M, Bauer R, Kreis W. Enzymatic degradation of cichoric acid in Echinacea purpurea preparations.  J Nat Prod. 2000;  63 1615-8.
• 27 Nusslein B, Kurzmann M, Kreis W. Enzymatic degradation of caffeic acid derivatives in Echinacea purpurea herbs. 46th Annual Congress of the Society for Medicinal Plant Research Vienna; 1998.
• 28 Douglas L S, Ron B HW. Effect of drying temperature on alkylamide and cichoric acid concentrations of Echinacea purpurea .  J Agric Food Chem. 2003;  51 1608-10.
• 29 Kim H O, Durance T D, Scaman C H, Kitts D D. Retention of caffeic acid derivatives in dried Echinacea purpurea .  J Agric Food Chem. 2000;  48 4182-6.