| V.A. Kurkin |
PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AS THE SOURCES
OF THE PHYTOPHARMACEUTICALS |
| Samara State Medical University, Samara, Russia E-mail:
vakur@samaramail.ru |
The phenolic compounds of medicinal plants are the perspective sources of the
adaptogenic, tonic, nootropic, antidepressive, anxiolitic, immunostimulating,
antiviral, hepatoprotective, cholagogic and antioxidant pharmaceuticals. As
a results of studies the chemical composition of a whole series of medicinal
plants were isolated more than 150 substances (simple phenols, phenylpropanoids,
coumarins, flavonoids), among which are new 20 compounds. The structural
elucidation of isolated compounds was carried out with the use of UV-, NMR-spectroscopy,
mass spectrometry, different chemical transformations. On the basis of the study
of physical-chemical, spectral properties there was developed the new classification
of phenol compounds, which was included in the textbook “Pharmacognosy”
(V.A. Kurkin, 2004; 2007). There were established relationships between of the
spectral and pharmacological activities of phenylpropanoids, flavonoids
and of their chemical structures. It was substantiated the need for introduction
into pharmacognosy of phenylpropanoids as the independent class of biologically
active compounds, which was reflected in the textbook “Pharmacognosy”
(V.A. Kurkin, 2004; 2007). . Besides, in accordingly with new chemical classification
of the medicinal plants (V.A. Kurkin, 2002) there were introduced in the pharmacognosy
so classes of biologically active phenolic compounds as xanthones and quinones.
The above-mentioned textbook includes the description of a whole series of the
new medicinal plants, which contain the phenolic compounds: Echinacea purpurea
(L.) Moench., Syringa vulgaris L., Arctium lappa L., Viscum album L., Salix
acutifolia Willd., Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., Ginkgo biloba L., Aerva
lanata Juss., Lespedeza sp., Phaseolus vulgaris L., Avena sativa L., Hibiscus
sabdaraffa L., Helichrysum italicum (Roth.) G. Don., Fagopyrum sagittatum Gilib.,
Juglans regia L., Hedysarum alpinum L. In the present time the Pharmacopoeia
of Russia contains about 30 medicinal plants, which are attributed to the flavonoids
as the leader group of biologically active compounds. Besides, in the case of
25 medicinal plants, contained essential oil, saponins and other substances,
the flavonoids are interesting as biologically active compounds, namely:
Tanacetum vulgare L., Mentha piperita L., Betula pubescens Ehrh., Melissa officinalis
L., Artemisia dracunculus L., Populus nigra L., Salix acutifolia Willd., Calendula
officinalis L., Aesculus hippocastanum L., Rhodiola rosea L. etc. In the
present paper are discussed also the actual aspects of the modern standardization
of the drugs and the phytopharmaceuticals. The new possibilities for the development
of pharmacognosy gives the use of the thin layer chromatography, the high performance
liquid chromatography, UV-, UR-,
1H-NMR-,
13C-NMR-spectroscopy,
mass spectrometry and other modern chemical, physical-chemical and spectral
methods. The modern standardization must be based on the use of standard samples
in the analytical methods for purpose of the identification and quantitative
determination of biologically active compounds in the drugs and the phytopharmaceuticals.
In the course of our investigations there were proposed the series of standard
samples for purpose of the standardization of Rhodiola rosea L. rhizomes (rosavin),
Rhodiola rosea L. tissue cultures (triandrin), Salix viminalis L. barks (triandrin),
Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Maxim. rhizomes (syringin or eleutheroside
B), Syringa vulgaris L. barks (syringin), Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. fruits.
(silybin), Betula pubescens Ehrh. leaves, Hypericum perforatum L. herbs (hyperoside),
Fagopyrum sagittatum Gilib. herbs (rutin), Glycyrrhiza glabra L. roots (licuraside),
Populus nigra L. buds (pinostrobin), Salix acutifolia Willd. barks, Helichrysum
arenarium (L.) Moench. flowers (isosalipurposide).
