DETERMINATION OF WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS IN MILK THISTLE FRUITS GROWING NATURALLY IN THE REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN

The work is devoted to the determination of water-soluble vitamins in the fruits of milk thistle, which grows naturally in some areas of the Republic of Dagestan, differing from each other by natural and climatic conditions: Suleiman Stalsky, Kaitagsky, Magaramkent, Levashinsky and Kulinsky districts. Phenotypic factors (altitude above sea level, soil composition, number of sunny days, precipitation volume, humidity, average daytime temperature, etc.) affected the vitamin composition of milk thistle fruits growing in natural conditions. High-performance liquid chromatography in gradient elution mode was used to determine water-soluble vitamins in milk thistle fruit samples. Nine water-soluble vitamins in milk thistle fruits (ascorbic acid, vitamins B and PP) have been identified and quantified. The variability of the content of water-soluble vitamins in the fruits of wild milk thistle, depending on the growing conditions, has been established. Statistical analysis of the data array on vitamin composition showed the presence of not only significant symbate and asymmetric correlations of the type Y=aX+b (pair correlation coefficient |R|≥0.55), but also close natural correlations (|R|≥0.80) between the content of certain vitamins and individual phenotypic factors.