Phenolic compounds in Geranium dalmaticum (Beck) Rech. f. and G. macrorrhizum L. (Geraniaceae)growing in Croatia

The quantitative analysis of bioactive phenolic compounds was carried out for the first time in above-ground plant parts of Geranium dalmaticum (Beck) Rech. f. and G. macrorrhizum L. (Geraniaceae) from Croatia by means of UV-Vis spectrophotometric methods and HPLC analysis. Both species had similar contents of polyphenolic substances expressed as mg of standard equivalent /g of dried herbal sample: total polyphenols (217.60 ± 1.08 and 215.53 ± 1.10 mg/g), tannins (155.83 ± 0.60 and 157.73 ± 0.61 mg/g), total flavonoids (5.10 ± 0.10 and 5.53 ± 0.10 mg/g), and total phenolic acids (13.27 ± 1.34 and 15.33 ± 0.45 mg/g), respectively for G. dalmaticum and G. macrorrhizum . Only the content of phenolic acids was somewhat higher in G . macrorrhizum but it was not statistically significant ( p > 0.05). HPLC analysis showed that, among seven tested phenolic compounds, only quercetin was quantified in G. dalmaticum (0.23 % of dry weight), and rutin in G. macrorrhizum (1.12 % of dry weight). The obtained results represent a useful basis for further research of phytochemicals and biological activities of G. dalmaticum and G. macrorrhizum extracts.