Research of the organic acids in Helichrysum bracteatum raw materials

Topically. The current growth rate of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, access to new markets and the expansion of the product range require the quality and quantity increase of medicinal plant materials to produce new effective drugs. Medicines produced on the basis of medicinal plants, have a diverse pharmacological effect and use in various branches of medicine. At the same time, an increase of medicinal plants range for use in medicine is possible due to a comprehensive pharmacognostic study of medicinal plants widely used in traditional and alternative medicine and plants systematically close to pharmacopoeial plants. Organic acids along with proteins and carbohydrates are among the most common compounds in plants. In addition, in some plant species, the total content of organic acids exceeds the content of proteins and carbohydrates. Organic acids are involved in many important processes: the formation of alkaloids, in fats biosynthesis, pectin, lignin, and chlorophyll, amino acids, in particular phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. Organic acids play an important role in the process of plant respiration. In addition, a number of organic acids are biologically active substances and have a pronounced pharmacological activity, so the search for plants that have a high content of organic acids and an extensive raw material base is promising. Aim. To study the composition of organic acids immortelle (Helichrysum bracteatum) raw material using HPLC. Materials and methods. For the study we used the crushed raw material of immortelle. The determination of organic acids was carried out by HPLC, the analysis was through Agilent Technologies 1200 liquid chromatograph. Acetonitrile and a 0.1 % solution of H3PO4 in water (1 : 99) were used as the mobile phase. Results and discussion. As a result of the analysis, 6 organic acids were determined: tartaric, pyruvic, izo-citric, citric, succinic, and malic acids. At the same time, in the flowers: iso-citric acid 22979.68 μg/g (60.87 %), succinic acid 7847.18 μg/g (20.79 %) and citric acid 2643.01 μg/g (7,00 %), in herb: the dominant organic acids are iso-citric acid 67613.38 μg/g (59.65 %), malic acid 24917.49 μg/g (21.98 %) and succinic acid 11515.72 μg/g (10.16 %). The remaining organic acids are represented in much smaller quantities, their share in flowers is 11.35 %, in herb is 8.2 %. Conclusions. For the first time, a study was conducted on the qualitative composition and content of organic acids of immortelle herb and flowers by HPLC method. The data obtained in the result of this study indicated the prospects for further phytochemical examination of immortelle and the development of new drugs and dietary supplements based on it.