PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS OF PLANTS OF THE GENUS VITEX L. (LAMIACEAE)

Abstract

A comparative phytochemical study of selected species of the genus Vitex L. (Lamiaceae) (V. agnus-castus, V. canescens, V. negundo, V. tripinnata) from the flora of Russia and Vietnam out was carried. The largest amount of extractive compounds was obtained from the leaves of V. agnus-castus when extracted with 60 % ethanol. Color reactions with Trim Hill and Stahl reagents, as well as thin-layer chromatography data, showed a high content of iridoids in extracts of leaves of V. agnus-castus and V. negundo and their low content (or absence) in V. tripinnata and V. canescens leaf extracts. The greatest amount of polyphenols and flavonoids is contained in the extract of the leaves of V. agnus-castus. The smaller amount of polyphenols is found in the leaves of V. canescens, and least amount of flavonoids is found in the leaves of V. tripinnata. All Vitex samples studied are characterized by an increased content of essential trace elements – iron, copper and zinc, and the leaves of V. tripinnata are also high in cobalt. High antiradical activity of all leaf samples of Vitex species was established. The relationship between the content of secondary metabolites and the position of species on the molecular phylogenetic tree of the genus Vitex is shown, which makes it possible to develop a chemotaxonomic forecast for search species of this genus with an increased content of biologically active compounds of a certain class (iridoids, polyphenols, phytoecdysteroids) for further pharmacological studies.