Affiliation:
1. Department of Analytical Development and Research Section Phytochemical Research WALA Heilmittel GmbH Dorfstraße 1 DE-73087 Bad Boll/Eckwälden Germany
2. Department of Pharmaceutical Technology University of Tübingen Auf der Morgenstelle 8 DE-72076 Tübingen Germany
3. Institute of Food Chemistry University of Hohenheim Garbenstr. 28 DE-70599 Stuttgart Germany
4. Translational Complementary Medicine Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences University of Basel Mattenstraße 22 CH-4058 Basel Switzerland
Abstract
AbstractWhile the flowers of Matricaria recutita L., German chamomile, are widely used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, little is known about its roots, which are used in complementary medicine for the preparation of aqueous fermented extracts for the treatment of cramps and anxiety. To broaden the understanding of the active principles involved, a model fermentation approach was developed and fermentates were compared to commercially manufactured tinctures. Coumarins and hydroxycinnamates were among the major secondary metabolites characterized using HPLC‐MSn. After six months of fermentation and storage, low‐molecular organic acids were detected by GC‐MS. Fermentation contributed to the stabilization of antioxidant and radical scavenging activities, which were in a range of about 8–10 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight and 20–24 mg trolox equivalents/g dry weight, determined by Folin‐Ciocalteu and DPPH assays, respectively. In addition, antibacterial activities of the extracts against Gram‐positive and ‐negative bacteria increased during the first week of fermentation. Fermentates were neither cytotoxic nor pro‐ or anti‐inflammatory. Thus, fermentation of chamomile roots is a suitable method for the safe production of biofunctional aqueous chamomile root extracts that remain stable without the addition of synthetic preservatives.