Аннотация:The genus
Celastrus
, or bittersweet
,
including around 35 species, growing in Asia, Australia, Madagascar and America
.
Several
Celastrus
species are used mostly as ornamental
plant
s in Russia and abroad. Their ornamental properties include bright
leaf coloration in autumn and showy fruits and seeds with orange arils. In addition to ornamental value, bittersweets are kno
wn
to posse
ss medicinal properties, however, this aspect is currently under
-
investigated. Some chemical compounds contained in
various parts of bittersweets, have shown biological activity.
Shoots of representatives of 6 bittersweet taxa
, introduced in con-
ditions of
Moscow region (
C. orbiculatus
,
C. rugosus
,
C. strigillosus
,
C. flagellaris
,
C. scandens
and
C. orbiculatus
var.
puncta-
tus
)
,
served as objects in the present study
.
Samples of frozen leaves and stems kept in a freezer at
-
10
°C were analyzed by
methods of h
igh performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) and mass
-
detection (MS). Spectral data (UV
-
and MS
-
spectra) of dominating substances in methanol extracts were obtained and, using literature record on the chemical com-
position of
Celastrus
plants, the
obtained
data were analyzed and interpreted.
Our investigation demonstrated
that taxa of the
genus
Celastrus
are producers of chemical constituents with high antioxidant power, such as afzelechin and its dimer and trimer
(
C. orbiculatus
,
С. fl
agellaris
,
С. strigillosus
,
С. orbiculatus
var. puncatus), kaempferol and its glycosides (all studied taxa),
quercetin and its glycosides (
C. rugosus
,
С. orbiculatus
,
С. scandens
)
.