Phytochemical study and biological evaluation of Sideritis species growing in Greece

The need for healthy and effective products is nowadays accompanied with environmental awareness. This “green” approach drove a trend toward natural products (NPs). Greece, and especially the Southern part of the country, harvest the most diverse flora in Mediterranean [1] [2].

The current study investigates and highlights the unexploited richness and biodiversity of the Greek flora, focusing on species of the genus Sideritis. The chemical content of three Sideritis water extracts, specifically S. scardica, S. perfoliata and S. raeseri was analysed and evaluated. The plant materials were dried, pulverised and water extracts were prepared. HPLC-DAD, HPTLC and LC-HRMS were used for analysis and chemical markers were identified. The extracts showed many similarities concerning their chemical profile and most differences were quantitative. Phenolic acids, like 5-caffeoylquinic acid and p-coumaric acid 4-O- glucoside and phenylethanoid glycosides, like forsythoside B and verbascoside were detected. The major metabolites of the extracts were acetylated flavonoid glycosides, such as isoscutellarein 7-O-[6´´´-O-acetyl]- allosyl(1→2)glucoside, 4'-O-methylhypolaetin 7-O-[6´´´-O-acetyl]-allosyl(1→2)glucoside and isoscutellarein 7-O-[6´´´-O-acetyl]-allosyl(1→2)-[6´´- O-acetyl]-glucoside. The extracts were fractionated and purified with preparative column chromatography and prep-HPLC and the structures of the isolated compounds were identified with NMR. The extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activity, showing IC₅₀ values in the DPPH assay less than 50 μg/ml. In conclusion, Sideritis species provide water extracts rich in bioactive constituents that can be used in the development of promising products.

Funding ESPA 2014-2022, SIDNEU, project code: ΣΤΕΡ1-0019461.

 

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

• References

• 1 Sklirou A.D., Angelopoulou M.T., Argyropoulou A., Chaita E., Boka V.I., Cheimonidi C., Niforou K., Mavrogonatou E., Pratsinis H., Kalpoutzakis E., Aligiannis N., Kletsas D., Trougakos I.P., Skaltsounis A.L.. Antioxidants 2021; 10: 1206
• 2 Aneva L., Zhelev P., Kozuharova E., Danova K., Nabavi S.F., Behzad S.. DARU J. Pharm. Sci 2019; 27: 407-421

Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023