QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF KHELLACTONE AND OTHER COUMARINS IN PHLOJODICARPUS SIBIRICUS (APIACEAE)

Phlojodicarpus sibiricus (Fisch.) Koso-Pol. is a medicinal plant of the Apiaceae family, the underground organs of which accumulate various groups of coumarins, including simple coumarins, furocoumarins and angular dihydropyranocoumarins in the form of esters of kellactone (3′,4′-dihydroxy-3′,4′-dihydroseselin), which are the dominant group of secondary metabolites. Known methods for the analysis of rhizomes and roots of P. sibiricus determine the content of individual compounds (visnadin, dihydrosamidin), which does not allow obtaining complete information about the presence of coumarin compounds in the plant. In the present study, a method of quantitative analysis of coumarins was developed. It includes preliminary hydrolysis of raw materials in aqueous potassium hydroxide, which leads to deacylation of esterified derivatives of kellactone and lomatin, without affecting glycosides of simple coumarins, followed by analysis of hydrolysis products (sum of kellactones, lomatin, 6′-O-apiosyl skimmin) by HPLC. The developed technique is characterized by high analysis speed, satisfactory validation characteristics, and accuracy. Approbation of the technique was carried out on samples of rhizomes and roots of P. sibiricus collected in three regions of Siberia (Zabaikalsky Krai, Buryatia Republic, Sakha (Yakutia) Republic). The total content of coumarins in plant materials from the studied populations was 12.70–74.03 mg/g. The method can be used for quality analysis and standardization of P. sibiricus rhizomes and roots.