*99836*

Loburtsova M.S., Gontova T.N., Khvorost O.P.

National University of Pharmacy, Kharkov, Ukraine

The study of the chemical composition of Pulmonaria obscura Dumort raw material

Lungwort, Pulmonaria obscura, is widespread early flowering plant of the Boraginaceae Family. It is a rhizome perennial plant. The features of vegetation are formation of flowering poorly foliiferous spring shoots and a potent summer root leaves rosette. There are a lot of data in the literature about the study of the flowering herb both in the chemical and pharmacological aspect. In this country the plant is only used in folk medicine.

Taking into account abundance of the plant and some aspects of the biological activity (such as anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antianemic action) the pharmacognostic study of the raw material of this representative of Boraginaceae Family is of current interest.

previously in the complex research of the plant the technological parameters of the raw material (loss on drying, total ash, mean particle size, specific weight, bulk density, bulk weight, porosity, poriness, absorption coefficients of extractants) were determined, extraction dynamics of extractive substances and the sum of phenols oxidized by alcohol with different concentrations were found and the technology of dense extracts from the herb and underground organs of Pulmonaria obscura was developed. A number of substances: lipophilic complexes, dense extracts, polysaccharide complexes was also obtained from the types of the raw material studied.

The aim of our work was the systemic comparative study of the chemical composition of the herb (at the stage of blossoming) and rhisomes with roots, as well as the substances obtained.

The raw material was stocked in different regions of Ukraine within the period of 2008-2011.

We have carried out the research of the amino acid content of the raw material and dense extracts.

It has been proven that the qualitative content of amino acids is the same and it consists of 17 essential and non-essential amino acids such as serine, glycine, cysteine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, arginine, treonine, methionine, phenylalanine, glutaminic acid, alanine, asparaginic acid, thirosine, histidine and proline.

In the dense extracts, being the same with each other and the raw material in the qualitative content of the related amino acids (17 substances), the following differences have been observed. In the dense extract of the herb 16 amino acids (except cysteine) have been identified, in the dense extract of the underground organs – 9 ones (treonine, methionine, phenylalanine, glutaminic acid, alanine, asparaginic acid, thirosine, histidine and proline) have been found.

chlorophylls, their derivatives and carotenoids have been identified in the lipophilic fraction of the herb, carotenoids have been found in the lipophilic fraction of the underground organs. Fatty acids have been identified in the given substances. Thus, the lipophilic fraction of the underground organs contains not less 9 substances, and the lipophilic fraction of the herb has not less 10 substances of this nature differing from the preceding one by the presence of arachidonic acid. nonsaturated eicosenoic and linoleic acids and saturated palmitic and eicosanoic acids were the predominant components in both substances.

Using paper chromatography we have determined the presence of ascorbic acid and such organic acids as malic and citric acids in the herb and underground organs of Pulmonaria obscura. Using reactions in vitro the presence of tannins has been found.

As a result of the research of the herb and underground organs, as well as dense extracts from these types of the raw material the qualitative composition and the quatitative content of macro- and microelements have been determined. 19 elements, among them there are 6 macroelements and 13 microelements, have been identified.

The monomeric composition of polysaccharides of the researched types of the raw material (after hydrolysis by the paper chromatography method) has been found. Concerning the quality it is the same and consists of arabinose, xylose, glucose, galactose and rhamnose.

A number of compounds of phenolic nature such as phenolcarbonic acids - trioxybenzoic, ellagic, p-coumaric, ferulic, rosmarinic, chlorogenic, caffeic and cinnamic have been found in the herb and underground organs. The presence of substances of the coumarin nature such as umbelliferone, scopoletin, esculetin, dihydrocoumarin have been determined. Flavonoids such as luteolin, kaempferol, quercetin, luteolin-7-О-glucoside, isorhamnetin, rutin have also been identified in the herb and underground organs.

Therefore, the comparative study of the chemical composition of the herb and underground organs of Pulmonaria obscura obtained from the given types of the raw material of substances has shown a number of common and distinctive features, as well as confirmed the perspective of further research related to creation of medicinal forms with the anti-inflammatory and expectorant action.