title: The phytochemical investigation of Agrimonia eupatoria L. and Agrimonia procera Wallr. as valid sources of Agrimoniae herba--The pharmacopoeial plant material.
abstract: The agrimony herb is a traditional plant drug, which is commonly used as a mildly astringent agent. According to European Pharmacopoeia, the only source of this plant drug is Agrimonia eupatoria. By contrast the German Commission E pharmacopoeial monograph used to allow Agrimonia procera to be used as a second valid source of Agrimoniae herba. Several studies have been conducted on the phytochemical composition of common agrimony. The data on the phytochemistry of A. procera are scarce. The aim of the present study was an in-depth phytochemical comparison of A. eupatoria and A. procera in the context of the pharmacopoeial monograph of A. herba. The comparison of two agrimony species showed that there are no significant qualitative differences. The quantitative HPLC analysis revealed that fragrant agrimony is a much better source of agrimoniin than common agrimony. This difference could not be detected using the pharmacopoeial method of quantification for the total tannin content. The present study has shown for the first time the possible use of apigenin-C-glycosides (vitexin and isovitexin) as chemotaxonomic markers for distinguishing both agrimony species. The potential chemical markers such as apigenin-7-O-glucoside and high agrimoniin content were also suggested for fragrant agrimony. Based on the data obtained, A. procera should be considered as a valid source of pharmacopoeial plant material.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy and Molecular Basis of Phytotherapy, Medical University of Warsaw, Faculty of Pharmacy, Banacha 1, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: sgranica@wum.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Granica
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 2, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kluge
authors.affiliation: Exsemine GmbH, Am Wehr 4, 06198 Salzatal/Zappendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and Botany, Medical University of Wroclaw, Borowska 211, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy and Molecular Basis of Phytotherapy, Medical University of Warsaw, Faculty of Pharmacy, Banacha 1, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kiss
mesh_terms: D031981:Agrimonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D047310:Apigenin / Q000032:analysis; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005858:Germany; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins / Q000032:analysis; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D064209:Phytochemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013634:Tannins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D064209:Phytochemicals; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012997:Solvents; D013634:Tannins; D047310:Apigenin; C052420:agrimoniin; C032731:vitexin; C049772:isovitexin
keywords: Agrimonia eupatoria; Agrimonia procera; Agrimoniae herba; Agrimoniin; Agrimony; HPLC–MS