Chromatographic analysis of important phytochemicals in fruits from Bryonia dioica, Tamus communis e Lonicera periclymenum.

Abstract

The practice of rubbing different plant material juices or extracts into the skin to relieve pain and rheumatic symptoms is deeply rooted in folk medicine and has been used for a long time. Several common species, usually available in agroecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula, were/are used for topical medicinal preparations as reported in recent ethnobotanical surveys. Based on these studies, the fruits (immature and ripe fruits) of three relevant species Bryonia dioica or white-bryony, Lonicera periclymenum or common honeysuckle and Tamus communis or black-bryony were gathered and different analyses were performed in order to characterize their phytochemical composition. The characterization consisted of tocopherols determination using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a fluorescence detector, sugars by HPLC coupled to a refraction index detector (RI), and fatty acids by gas-chromatography (GC) coupled to a flame ionization detector (FID). Among tocopherols, all the isoforms were found being α-tocopherol the major compound in all the samples. Black-bryony ripened fruits presented the highest content of tocopherols (176.61 mg/ 100 g of dry weight), with the highest levels of α, β, and δ-tocopherols. In relation to sugars composition common honeysuckle ripened fruits gave the highest total sugars content (28.15 g/100 g dw), with the highest levels of fructose (10.19 g/100 g dw) and glucose (11.91 g/100 g dw). Ripened fruits gave higher total sugars, than immature fruits, but trehalose and raffinose decreased in these fruits. Regarding fatty acid composition the major fatty acid found in white-bryony and common honeysuckle was linoleic acid (C18:2n6), while oleic acid (C18:1n9) predominated in black-bryony; all presented palmitic acid (C16:0). White-bryony immature fruits revealed the highest PUFA levels (71%). Traditional medicinal uses, whose knowledge and practices have been orally transmitted over the centuries, are important approaches for discovering therapeutic molecules and compounds. This study reveals interesting bioactive phytochemicals found in these fruits, which could provide scientific evidence for their folk medicinal uses.