Abstract
Biologically active compounds that have great pharmacological potential are largely obtained through medicinal plants. Verbascum thapsus L. has received scientific attention among them because of its varied phytochemical structure and extensive biological activity. The current research was done to examine the phytochemical content of V. thapsus grown in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. Spectrophotometric, permanganatometric, and colorimetric determination of biologically active classes of compounds were performed to quantitative determination. The atomic emission spectroscopy, gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques was also applied. Phytochemical analysis revealed that the content of moisture was 6.26%, total ash was 5.31% and extractive substances was 38.83%, which were in confirmation of the quality of the plant material. The quantitative analysis demonstrated the existence of significant content of the secondary metabolites (polysaccharides – 6.35%, tannins – 4.52%, flavonoids – 2.35%, saponins – 2.19%, alkaloids – 1.39%). The mineral analysis showed high level of such essential macroelements as potassium (1189.98 μg/mL), calcium (796.69 μg/mL) and magnesium (220.12 μg/mL) and trace elements, including the following: iron (15.4503 μg/mL), zinc (2.9316 μg/mL), and manganese (2.2882 μg/mL). Fatty acid analysis revealed the existence of saturated (42.288%), monounsaturated (22.190%), and polyunsaturated (34.397%) fatty acids with palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids being the dominant ones. The HPLC result showed that the vitamin C content was 33.483 mg/100 g, and the vitamin E was 0.665 mg/100 g. The received outcomes prove that V. thapsus growing in the Almaty area is a high source of biologically active compounds, necessary minerals, fatty acids, and antioxidant vitamins. The results broaden the previous knowledge on the phytochemical composition of this species and complement the idea that it is a prospective raw material to be utilized in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes. This study can be utilized to prepare plant-based medicine formulations and natural antioxidants products of V. thapsus.