Study of volatile compounds of Сalendula officinalis L. flowers by the method of gas chromatography with MAS detection

Abstract

A promising direction for improving the procedure of standardization of multicomponent phytoremedies is the use of so-called marker compounds, or markers – substances whose presence is characteristic only for individual medicinal raw materials. The introduction of methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis based on the use of markers is not only of great practical importance, but also of significant scientific expediency. One of the most common components used to make complex herbal collections are the flowers of medicinal plants, which are successfully used in medical practice both in the form of mono preparations and in the form of components of over-the-counter medicinal product of herbal origin. The pharmacological activity of the flowers of marigolds is due to the presence in their composition of a complex of biologically active substances, in particular essential oils, the content of which is associated with such pharmacological properties of the plant as bactericidal, antioxidant, etc. That is why it was considered expedient to search on markers for plant standardization in mixtures among essential oil components. The aim of the work was to study the components of the essential oil of calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis L.) by the method of gas chromatography with mass detection The object of the study was marigold flowers in packs of 50 g (CJSC «Liktravy», series 80310). The study of volatile components was carried out using the method of gas chromatography with mass detection. Chromatographic study of the studied extracts was carried out on an Agilent 6890 gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectrometric detector (model 5973). The identification of the studied components was carried out by mass spectra and the retention time of the components. As a result of the conducted research, using library spectra, 59 volatile components were identified in the extract of the flowers of Calendula officinalis L., 50 were recognized: monocyclic and bicyclic monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, sesquiterpene alcohols, etc. The major volatile components of flowers of Calendula officinalis L. are the following substances: α-cadinol, δ-cadinene, α-muurolol and epi-α-cadinol, the content of which is equal to 417.2 mg/kg, 284.2 mg/kg, 92.4 mg/kg and 75.7 mg/kg of raw material, respectively.  The total content of all four major volatile compounds of the flowers of Calendula officinalis L. is 44.14% of the total amount of volatile compounds found in the object of research.