Matricaria pubescens (Asteraceae), known as hairy chamomile, is endemic in North Africa and is used in
rheumatic and muscular pains, coughs, allergies, ocular affections, dysmenorrhea,
scorpion stings, dehydration and toothaches [1]. In Europe M. recutita is used for mild gastrointestinal problems, ulcers and inflammations of mouth and
throat, for irritated skin and mucosae and for the relief of common cold [2]. As a part of a project aiming at studying Matricaria sp. the analysis of M. pubescens from Algeria and M. recutita from Greece was undertaken. Methanolic and hydroalcoholic extracts were studied by
HPLC-PDA-MS and chromatographic analyzes followed by 1D and 2D NMR. In M. pubescens more than 20 compounds have been identified up to now, among them quercetagenin-3-O-glucopyranoside,
reported for the first time in Matricaria sp. and two polyamines previously reported in other Asteraceae sp. [3]. Fingerprint analysis and comparison of this species to the officially recognized
in Europe M. recutita L. shows many similarities and justifies the ethnopharmacological uses in Algerian
traditional medicine. M. recutita extracts from Greece were also found rich in phenolic constituents. The characterized
extracts were screened for their protective effects on 3T3 fibroblasts. The cells
were exposed to UVA light to 5-7J/cm2 in presence of different doses of the extracts. Cell viability and oxidative stress
were evaluated by neutral red absorption (540nm) and 5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2’,7’-dichlorodihydrofluorescein
diacetate, acetyl ester fluorescence (excitation at 485 and emission at 520nm). Matricaria pubescens methanolic and hydromethanolic extracts did not exhibit a significant anti-inflammatory
activity. On the contrary, Matricaria recutita methanol extracts at low doses (0.1μg/ml, 1 μg/ml and 10 mg/ml) showed a considerable
protective effect in the milder inflammation model (60min exposure to UV light).
