Phytochemical Characteristics of Some Species of the Genera Solidago L. And Bellis L. (Asteraceae) Under Cultivation in West Siberia

The content of phenolic compounds (flavonols, flavans (catechins), tannins), polysaccharides (pectins, protopectins), tetraterpenes (carotenoids), as well as the antioxidant and antiviral activity of Solidago canadensis L., Solidago virgaurea L., Bellis perennis L., cultivated in West Siberia has been investigated. The leaves and inflorescences of S. canadensis and S. virgaurea contain about 2 % of flavonols. The total tannin content varies in the inflorescences from 10.59 % (S. virgaurea) to 19.7 % (S. canadensis). The above-ground organs of S. canadensis are characterised by the higher content of catechins (up to 0.19 % in leaves) than S. virgaurea (up to 0.07 % in leaves). Leaves and inflorescences of the studied species of Solidago genus contain no more than 1 % pectins and 10 % protopectins. The concentrations of carotenoids in the leaves and inflorescences of S. canadensis are the same (about 0.1 %), S. virgaurea is characterised by a higher content of this group of compounds in the leaves (up to 0.2 %). The total content of catechins (up to 0.05 %), pectins (up to 2 %), protopectins (up to 7.0 %) and carotenoids (up to 0.01 %) in the leaves and inflorescences of B. perennis exhibit no significant differences. Flavonols are present in smaller amounts in the leaves (no more than 0.6 %), tannins in the inflorescences (no more than 6 %). The total content of phenolic antioxidants in the leaves and inflorescences of S. canadensis, S. virgaurea and B. perennis is within the range of 0.11-0.19 mg/g. The radical binding activity (determined by the DPPH method) of S. virgaurea (1.32-1.61 mg/ml) is two times higher than that of S. canadensis (3.05-3.58 mg/ml) on average. An aqueous-alcoholic extract from the leaves of S. virgaurea inhibits the reproduction of the avian influenza virus A/chicken/Kurgan/05/2005 (H5N1) (neutralization index (NI) is 4.75 lg) and the human influenza virus A/Aichi/2/68 (NI is 4.50 lg).