Evaluation of biologically active compounds in roots and rhizomes of Rhodiola rosea L. cultivated in Lithuania

Agnė Kučinskaitė, Loretta Pobłocka-Olech¹, Mirosława Krauze-Baranowska¹, Małgorzata Sznitowska², Arūnas Savickas, Vitalis Briedis

Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Social Pharmacy, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania, ¹Department of Pharmacognosy, ²Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland

Key words: salidroside; rosavins; solid-phase extraction and thin-layer chromatography; Rhodiola rosea L.

Summary. Salidroside and rosavins (rosavin, rosarin, and rosin), biologically active compounds of Rhodiola rosea L., were analyzed in dried roots and rhizomes of the plants cultivated in Lithuania and naturally growing in Altai geographical region in Russian Federation. The quantitative analysis of the aqueous-ethanolic extracts prepared by percolation was performed employing solid-phase extraction and thin-layer chromatography followed by densitometric determination. Similar amounts of salidroside were found in the extracts (1.35–1.62 mg/mL), irrespective of the origin of the crude plant; however, the differences in the profile of rosavins were substantial with higher content of total rosavins in the extracts obtained from the plant cultivated in Lithuania (7.4 vs. 4.2 mg/mL). It was demonstrated that extracts prepared with 70% (v/v) ethanol contained low concentration of salidroside (0.16–0.17 mg/mL), while the extraction of rosavins with 70% (v/v) ethanol was more efficient compared to 40% (v/v) ethanol.

Correspondence to A. Kučinskaitė, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Social Pharmacy, Kaunas University of Medicine, A. Mickevičiaus 9, 44307 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: agnekucinskaite@yahoo.com

Received 23 February 2007, accepted 11 June 2007