Graça, Vânia C.Dias, Maria InêsBarros, LillianCalhelha, Ricardo C.Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.2019-01-072019-01-072018Graça, Vânia C.; Dias, Maria Inês; Barros, Lillian; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R. (2018). Bio-guided fractionation of extracts of Geranium molle L.: relationship between phenolic profile and biological activity. In XXIV Encontro Luso Galego de Química. Porto. ISBN 978-989-8124-24-1978-989-8124-24-1http://hdl.handle.net/10198/18315Geranium molle L. (Fig. l) has been used in the Portuguese folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments including cancer [l]. However, contrary to many Geranium species, the bioactivity and the phytochemical composition of G. molle are virtually unexplored. The first phase of this study consisted in the chemical characterization (nutritional value, free sugars, organic acids, fatty acids and tocopherols) of a G. molle sample from Trás-os-Montes, north-eastern Portugal. The bioactive properties of infusion and decoction (common forms of consumption) and of different organic extracts obtained by sequential extraction were also evaluated. G. molle was shown to be rich in carbohydrates and proteins, providing tocopherols and essential fatty acids. Amongst the various extracts, the acetone extract was found to have the highest content of phenolic compounds as well as the highest antioxidant and cytotoxic activities [2]. Following this preliminary evaluation, the most active extracts (acetone and methanol) were fractionated by column chromatography and the resulting fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The bio-guided fractionation of the extracts resulted in several fractions with improved bioactivity in comparison with the corresponding crude extracts. The fractions obtained from the acetone extract consistently displayed the lowest EC50 and GI50 values and presented the highest content of total phenolic compounds. The phytochemical composition of the most bioactive fractions of the acetone and methanol extracts was included about thirty identified compounds, mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids, which could be identified for the first time in G. molle [3].porconference object