The Relationship between Chlorophyll Content and Antioxidant Activity of Abies alba and Nepeta pannonica Extracts According to Phenophase and Harvesting Area

Abstract Abies and Nepeta species are well known for their traditional use in traditional medicine from Bukovina, Romania, and other parts from the world. However, too few studies present the connection between phenophase, chlorophyll content and antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from medicinal plants. Phenophases, like stages from vital cycle of plants, involve seasonal and evolutionary changes, including chlorophyll content of the leaves. With these changes, there are also changes in the oxidative activity of the extracts obtained from the studied plants. The chlorophyll was extracted with acetone, being quantitatively measured using the spectrophotometer. Antioxidant activity was determined by the DPPH method. This method is one from the most popular ways to measure the antioxidant capacity of a substance. The studied species are Abies alba and Nepeta pannonica. Plants were harvested from different locations of Bukovina, from areas of Câmpulung Moldovenesc and Cacica localities, Suceava county, Romania. Chosen phenophases were growing and flowering. The DPPH method implies making some extracts with organic solvents from collected plants, in this case being acetone. Using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil reactive, there was determined the antioxidant capacity of mentioned extracts. There were observed variations of this depending of phenophase and collecting areas, being closely related to total chlorophyll content. The both species have behaved differently and obtained results can be used to determine the optimal harvest moments of these plants.