Novel insights into the roots of an ancient medicinal plant: Matricaria recutita L.

German chamomile is among the most widely known and applied medicinal plants. Its yellow-white flowers together with its blue essential oil have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic properties [1]. Rather uncommon, however, is the use of chamomile roots in complementary medicine for their soothing and kidney-strengthening effects.

Since detailed information on chamomile roots was lacking, our study aimed at a detailed investigation of this mostly overlooked plant part. Firstly, root extracts obtained with solvents of different polarity were analysed using GC-MS and HPLC-MSn. Among the volatiles, sesquiterpenes were detected in addition to different polyacetylenic compounds previously described for chamomile flowers. However, the roots were devoid of matricin and bisabolol, which are typical of the essential flower oil. The polar fraction contained a variety of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. Additionally, coumarin glycosides and glyceroglycolipids of linoleic and linolenic acid were detected. Secondly, bioactivity screening of the aforementioned extracts was performed. Interestingly, in the DPPH radical scavenging assay, ethyl acetate and butanol extracts of chamomile roots showed antioxidant activity comparable to that of chamomile flower extracts. Furthermore, distinct superoxide-scavenging activity was demonstrated using a hypoxanthin/xanthin oxidase system, and non-polar root extracts inhibited growth of the Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus and B. subtilis [2] ([Fig. 1]).

Fig. 1 Matricaria recutita L. root workflow

Based on these findings and marked emulsifying properties, chamomile root extracts may be incorporated as stabilizing and antioxidant components in various pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic products. This may also contribute to more sustainable chamomile cultivation, since the root material is usually not exploited so far.

 

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• References

• 1 Singh O, Khanam Z., Mira N, Srivastava M.K.. Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.): An overview. Pharmacogn Rev 2011; 5 (09) 82-95
• 2 Mailander L.K., Lorenz P, Bitterling H, Stintzing F.C., Daniels R., Kammerer D.R.. Phytochemical characterization of chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) roots and evaluation of their antioxidant and antibacterial potential. Molecules 2022; 27 (23) 8508

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023