The dosage and biological role of carotenoids and chlorophylls in species of the genus Galium L.

Abstract

Introduction. Carotenoids and chlorophylls are plant pigments that play a vital role in plant life, participating in the process of photosynthesis and in the synthesis of growth regulators, stress signalers and fungicide attack agents. Research from the last decades has shown that, widely used as nutrients, chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments have beneficial effects on the human body. They exert antioxidant, energizing, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory properties, and can be applied in the prevention and treatment of 21st century diseases (cancer, cardiovascular diseases, low immunity), which are related to numerous causal factors (excessive chemicalization of the food industry, progressive climate change and environmental pollution), which reflects on the quality of human health. Material and methods. We aimed to determine the content of carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments in different plant organs (stems, leaves, flowers and aerial parts), collected during the flowering period from 2 species, G. verum and G. aparine from the spontaneous flora of the Republic of Moldova. Determination was carried out by spectrophotometric method with the Metertech UV/VIS SP 8001 spectrophotometer, used as an extractant ethyl alcohol at 60% and 95% concentration. The data were reported as mean values ± standard deviation (SD). Results. Experimental data obtained on the comparative application of 2 concentrations of ethyl alcohol (60 and 95%) for the extraction of carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments show that 95% ethyl alcohol is the most efficient for all analyzed samples. The determination of carotenoid pigments in different organs of G. verum and G. aparine species indicates that the maximum carotenoid content is extracted from the aerial parts of G. verum sp. (52.66 mg/%) than those of G. aparine (27.38 mg/%); compared to the content of chlorophyll pigments, which is quantitatively predominant in G. aparine sp. (chlorophyll a – 2.85 and chlorophyll b – 4.33 mg/l) compared to G. verum sp. (chlorophyll a – 1.2 and chlorophyll b – 1.9 mg/l). Conclusions. The results of spectrophotometric determination of carotenoids, chlorophylls a and b in different organs of G. verum and G. aparine sp. denote that the highest content of pigments is extracted with 95% ethyl alcohol in aerial parts in both species of the spontaneous flora of the Republic of Moldova.