Phenolic compounds profiling of nine dogwood species ( L.) leaves.

This study analysed the phenolic compound profile in the leaves of nine species (, , var. , , , , , , and ) to evaluate their potential as stable sources of bioactive compounds. The main phenolic acids (gallic, ellagic and chlorogenic acids) and flavonoids were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD). Among the phenolic acids, and contained the highest levels of chlorogenic acid, while totally lacked this compound. Notably, the chlorogenic acid concentration in also exceeded previously reported values for other plant parts. The highest ellagic acid content was found in var. , while the lowest was observed in . showed the highest concentration of gallic acid. Flavonoid analysis revealed that quercetin-3--galactoside was present in all species studied, with the highest levels in and the lowest in . Quercetin-3--glucoside was abundant in but absent in . Quercetin-3--rhamnoside was detected in significant amounts only in and . Among the kaempferol derivatives, kaempferol-3--glucoside was the most abundant, with the highest concentration in . Furthermore, and were the richest sources of quercetin, while was particularly rich in kaempferol. These results highlight the diverse phenolic profiles of species and their potential as valuable sources of bioactive compounds.