Biothermodynamics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany.
Physiology and Biochemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
J Sci Food Agric. 2024 May;104(7):3971-3981. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.13279. Epub 2024 Jan 22.
Symphytum (comfrey) genus, particularly Symphytum officinale, has been empirically used in folk medicine mainly for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. In an attempt to shed light on the valorization of less known taxa, the current study evaluated the metabolite profile and antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects of nine Symphytum species.
Phenolic acids, flavonoids and pyrrolizidine alkaloids were the most representative compounds in all comfrey samples. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that, within the roots, S. grandiflorum was slightly different from S. ibericum, S. caucasicum and the remaining species. Within the aerial parts, S. caucasicum and S. asperum differed from the other samples. All Symphytum species showed good antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities, as evaluated in DPPH (up to 50.17 mg Trolox equivalents (TE) g), ABTS (up to 49.92 mg TE g), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC, up to 92.93 mg TE g), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP, up to 53.63 mg TE g), acetylcholinesterase (AChE, up to 0.52 mg galanthamine equivalents (GALAE) g), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE, up to 0.96 mg GALAE g), tyrosinase (up to 13.58 mg kojic acid equivalents g) and glucosidase (up to 0.28 mmol acarbose equivalents g) tests. Pearson correlation analysis revealed potential links between danshensu and ABTS/FRAP/CUPRAC, quercetin-O-hexoside and DPPH/CUPRAC, or rabdosiin and anti-BChE activity.
By assessing for the first time in a comparative manner the phytochemical-biological profile of a considerably high number of Symphytum samples, this study unveils the potential use of less common comfrey species as novel phytopharmaceutical or agricultural raw materials. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
筋骨草（Comfrey）属，特别是筋骨草（Symphytum officinale），在民间医学中被经验性地用于其强大的抗炎特性。为了阐明对不太知名类群的利用价值，本研究评估了九种筋骨草属物种的代谢物谱、抗氧化和酶抑制作用。
在所有筋骨草样品中，酚酸、类黄酮和吡咯里西啶生物碱是最具代表性的化合物。层次聚类分析表明，在根中，Symphytum grandiflorum 与 S.ibericum、S. caucasicum 和其余物种略有不同。在地上部分，S. caucasicum 和 S. asperum 与其他样品不同。所有筋骨草物种均表现出良好的抗氧化和酶抑制活性，如 DPPH（高达 50.17 mg Trolox 当量（TE）/g）、ABTS（高达 49.92 mg TE/g）、铜还原抗氧化能力（CUPRAC，高达 92.93 mg TE/g）、铁还原抗氧化能力（FRAP，高达 53.63 mg TE/g）、乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE，高达 0.52 mg 加兰他敏当量（GALAE）/g）、丁酰胆碱酯酶（BChE，高达 0.96 mg GALAE/g）、酪氨酸酶（高达 13.58 mg 曲酸当量/g）和葡萄糖苷酶（高达 0.28 mmol 阿卡波糖当量/g）试验。Pearson 相关分析显示，丹参素与 ABTS/FRAP/CUPRAC、槲皮素-O-己糖苷与 DPPH/CUPRAC 或 Rabdosin 与抗 BChE 活性之间存在潜在联系。
本研究首次以比较的方式评估了相当数量的筋骨草样本的植物化学-生物学特征，揭示了较不常见的筋骨草物种作为新型植物药或农业原料的潜在用途。
