Phenolic compounds from the aerial parts of Prangos ferulaceae, with antioxidant activity

Background: Prangos ferulaceae (Apiaceae) is a perennial herb indigenous to Iran where it is used as a medicinal plant. In folk medicine, extracts of the roots and fruits of the plant have been used for the treatment of digestive disorders, healing scars, and to stop bleeding. In the present work, we report the presence of some phenolic compounds from the aerial parts of the plant. Materials and Methods: The air-dried powder of Prangos ferulaceae leaves were Soxhlet extracted, successively, with n-hexane, dichloromethane, and methanol. A portion of concentrated residue of methanol extract was fractionated with an SPE-C18 cartridge using different mixtures of methanolwater. The 40% methanol fraction was analyzed by preparative HPLC using a methanol and water gradient to afford 4 compounds. Results: The purified compounds using preparative HPLC were: a glucosilated coumarin, celereoside and three flavonoids, quercetin 3-O-β-glucoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-β-glucoside, and isorhamnetin 3-O-glucorhamnoside. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by UV, IR, 1D, and 2 D NMR spectral data. Quercetin glucoside and isorhamnetin glucoside exhibited strong antioxidant activity in the DPPH test with an RC50 value of 36.2 and 64.4 μg/mL respectively. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the P. ferulaceae aerial parts contain antioxidant flavonoids and furanocoumarins and that the plants bioactivities and medicinal potential might be attributed to presence of these compounds.