Effect of ecological factors on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in Iris species from Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine

Olha Mykhailenko; Zigmantas Gudžinskas; Volodymyr Kovalyov; Volodymyr Desenko; Liudas Ivanauskas; Ivan Bezruk; Victoriya Georgiyants

doi:10.1002/pca.2918

Effect of ecological factors on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in Iris species from Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine

Phytochem Anal. 2020 Sep;31(5):545-563. doi: 10.1002/pca.2918. Epub 2020 Jan 21.

Authors

Olha Mykhailenko¹, Zigmantas Gudžinskas², Volodymyr Kovalyov³, Volodymyr Desenko⁴, Liudas Ivanauskas⁵, Ivan Bezruk⁶, Victoriya Georgiyants⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany, National University of Pharmacy, Valentynivska Str. 4, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
² Nature Research Centre, Institute of Botany, Žaliųjų Ežerų Str. 49, Vilnius, Lithuania.
³ Department of Pharmacognosy, National University of Pharmacy, Valentynivska Str. 4, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
⁴ Kharkiv Branch of the State Institution Soil Protection Institute of Ukraine, Kosmichna Str. 21A, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
⁵ Department of Analytical and Toxicological Chemistry, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, A. Mickevičiaus Str. 9, Kaunas, Lithuania.
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National University of Pharmacy, Valentynivska Str. 4, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

PMID: 31965645
DOI: 10.1002/pca.2918

Abstract

Introduction: It is important to conduct studies on the influence of environmental factors on the accumulation of secondary metabolites in plants, as well as the cultivation of plants and harvesting of their raw material.

Objective: In this study, we examined the influence of habitat types, soil composition, climatic factors and altitude on the content of phenolic compounds in Iris species from different populations in Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.

Methodology: According to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, 25 compounds (flavonoids, isoflavonoids, isoflavonoid glucosides, xanthones, phenolcarboxylic acids) were identified in the methanol extracts of 16 samples of Iris rhizomes. The quantitative data were further analysed by principal component analysis (PCA) to reveal the impact of environmental factors on the accumulation of compounds in plants.

Results: Iris pseudacorus from Latvia and Lithuania had a more diverse composition of phenolic compounds than samples from Ukraine. Sampled plants of the Iris subg. Iris had a higher content of the analysed compounds than those of Iris subg. Limniris. PCA results showed that the levels of phenolic compounds in Iris rhizomes were influenced by the content of soil nutrients. The phosphorus and potassium content had a significant impact on the levels of phenolic compounds, whereas the impact of nitrogen content was not significant. Meteorological factors had a small impact; however, sunshine duration had a significant positive effect and the amount of precipitation had a significant negative impact.

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that rhizomes of Iris species may be an important source of pharmacologically active compounds such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids and xanthones. Studies on the effect of environmental factors on the production and accumulation of secondary metabolites in Iris species are important because they contribute to knowledge of quantitative parameters of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants and could be employed for the cultivation and harvesting of raw material for medicinal purposes.

Keywords: HPLC; Iridaceae; meteorological conditions; principal component analysis; rhizomes; soil.

MeSH terms

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Flavonoids / analysis
Iris Plant*
Latvia
Lithuania
Phenols / analysis
Ukraine

Substances

Flavonoids
Phenols