A collection of herbs from the natural environment remains not only a source of raw material but also provides evidence of chemical differentiation of the local populations. This work aimed at performing a phytosociological analysis of seven different stands of meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim.) occurrence. A determination of total phenolic compounds and salicylates and the antioxidant activity of dried meadowsweet inflorescences (Flos ulmariae) was also performed. Active chemical compounds in F. ulmaria inflorescences were related to chemotype and diversified between investigated populations. Geographical distance and variation in phytosociological locations affected chemical composition in different ways, shaping the content of biochemical compounds crucial for herbal material quality. The obtained results can be a valuable indicator for Nexo and Baligród populations, which are good genetic material for research, breeding, and cultivation due to their biochemical composition, especially with respect to salicylates, as major compounds of determining market quality of Flos ulmariae.
Keywords: meadowsweet; phenolics; salicylates.