Japanese knotweed is an herbaceous perennial that has become one of Europe's most invasive species due to its ability to spread into different types of habitats. In contrast to its negative impact on the environment, it is an important plant in the field of folk medicine. It has been used for more than a thousand years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat various diseases, and has an important place in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields.
The aim of this master thesis is to determine the optimal conditions for the extraction of selected compounds in Japanese knotweed and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the extracts by design of experiments (DoE). We have developed a sensitive, accurate and reproducible HPLC method for the determination of the content of the compounds investigated and the antioxidant activity of the individual extracts was evaluated by DPPH, ABTS and FC assays.
We found that 1 g of extract contained on average the highest amount of piceid (9,21 mg/g extract), followed by chlorogenic acid (4,41 mg/g), emodin-8-glucoside (3,52 mg/g) and emodin (1,36 mg/g), and the lowest amount of resveratrol (0,37 mg/g). The data obtained for total phenolic compounds averaged 128,6 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract (18,76 % RSD). The antioxidant activity of the extracts evaluated by the ABTS test averaged 663,9 mg gallic acid equivalent/g (1,15 % RSD) and by the DPPH test 297,6 mg gallic acid equivalent/g (3,08 % RSD).
We have shown that the leaves of the Japanese knotweed, which grows in Slovenia, contain all five compounds tested and exhibit antioxidant properties. DoE was used to optimise the extraction of Japanese knotweed leaves and to determine the most optimal conditions: ethanol concentration 52.84%, drug to solvent ratio 1: 10.14 and extraction time 45 min. For all measured responses, the most important extraction parameter was the ethanol concentration.
Based on our findings, we conclude that the above-ground parts, which are often discarded in the industry, could be used as a new source of antioxidants.
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