The study of the chemical composition of the components of the motherwort herb

Aim. To study phytochemically the components of the motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) herb and determine which overground organs contain the greatest number of active substances and affect the quality of medicines based on this raw material.Materials and methods. The object of the study was the motherwort herb and its components, such as leaves, flowers and stems. The alcoholic tincture from the motherwort herb and its components was obtained by maceration in the ratio of 1 : 5. Substances of phenolic nature and iridoids were identified by TLC. The phenolic composition of the objects was studied by HPLC on a Shimadzu LC20 Prominence liquid chromatograph under standard conditions. The content of the amount of phenolic compounds, hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids was determined by spectrophotometric methods.Results and discussion. The qualitative composition and the quantitative content of phenolic compounds of the components of the motherwort herb were studied. The component composition of the motherwort herb was determined; in it leaves were 36 %, stems – 34 % and flowers – 30 %. The quantitative content of 6 substances of phenolic nature was identified in the objects studied: 3 flavonoids (rutin, apigenin, catechine) and 3 hydroxycinnamic acids (chlorogenic, caffeic and rosmarinic acids). Iridoid compounds (harpagide, harpagide acetate and ajugoside) were identified in the raw material by TLC. The content of main groups of BAS was determined in the tinctures obtained from herb, leaves, flowers and stems of motherwort by the spectrophotometric method. It has been found that flowers largely accumulate hydroxycinnamic acids, while leaves have a considerable amount of flavonoids. The content of all substances identified is several times lower in stems than in other components of the herb, therefore, it is advisable to normalize their content.Conclusions. When collecting the motherwort herb it is necessary to reject coarse, woody stems, which significantly reduce the content of active substances in the medicinal plant raw material and affect the quality of the raw material in general and galenic agents based on it.