Comparative study of the morphological and phytochemical characterization of Romanian Solidago species.

In the present study, three indigenous species of Solidago genus (Solidago gigantea, Solidago virgaurea and Solidago canadensis) have been analyzed for the assessment of polyphenolic, phenyl propane derivates and essential oil contents. In addition, a comparative morphological study was also described. The leaves and the flowers of the three Solidago species were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The qualitative and quantitative characterizations of the main polyphenolic compounds from the hydrolyzed extracts were carried out by using high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC-UV), high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the essential oil determination. The dominant flavonoidic aglycone found for all three species was quercetol with its highest concentration registered in Solidago canadensis. Four components, α-pinene, mircene, bornyl acetate and germacrene D, were detected in all the analyzed samples of essential oils. According to the comparative morphological analysis, morphoanatomical differences were observed for the tryhomes, stomata and flowers of the studied Romanian Solidago species.

Phytochemical overview and medicinal importance of Coffea species from the past until now.

Coffea (coffee) species are grown in almost all countries along the Equator. Many members of the genus have a large production history and an important role both in the global market and researches. Seeds (Coffeae semen) are successfully used in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries due to its caffeine and high polyphenol content. Nowadays, the three best-known coffee species are Arabic (Coffea arabica L.), Robusta (Coffea robusta L. Linden), and Liberian coffees (Coffea liberica Hiern.). Even though, many records are available on coffee in scientific literature, wild coffee species like Bengal coffee (Coffea benghalensis Roxb. Ex Schult.) could offer many new opportunities and challenges for phytochemical and medical studies. In this comprehensive summary, we focused on the ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, and medical significance of coffee species up to the present.

Antioxidant potential, tannin and polyphenol contents of seed and pericarp of three Coffea species.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antioxidant activity, total phenolic and total tannin content of the pericarp and the seed of Coffea benghalensis (C. benghalensis) and Coffea liberica compared to Coffea arabica (C. arabica). METHODS: The antioxidant potential, total tannin and polyphenol contents of the immature and mature seed and pericarp of C. benghalensis and Coffea liberica were quantified and compared to C. arabica. Enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), oxygen radical absorbance capacity, Folin-Ciocalteau method and total tannin content assays were used. RESULTS: Trolox equivalent (TE/g plant material) values obtained by ECL and DPPH methods showed loose correlation (r(2) = 0.587) while those measured by oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay were higher without correlation in each plant. A closer correlation was detected between the ECL method and the percentage antioxidant activity of the DPPH technique (r(2) = 0.610 7) in each species, however the immature pericarp of C. benghalensis showed much higher DPPH scavenging potential than was seen in the ECL assay. The immature pericarp of C. benghalensis expressed the highest tannin and polyphenol content, and a high polyphenol level was also detected in the immature seed of C. arabica. The immature pericarp of Bengal and Liberian coffees showed the largest amount of phenolic contents. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained data highlight the potential role of C. benghalensis as a new source of natural antioxidants and polyphenols compared to C. arabica.