Exploring New Antioxidant and Mineral Compounds from Nymphaea alba Wild-Grown in Danube Delta Biosphere
Mihaela Cudalbeanu,
Ioana Otilia Ghinea,
Bianca Furdui,
Durand Dah-Nouvlessounon,
Robert Raclea,
Teodor Costache,
Iulia Elena Cucolea,
Florentina Urlan,
Rodica Mihaela Dinica
Affiliations
Mihaela Cudalbeanu
Faculty of Sciences and Environment, Department of Chemistry Physical and Environment, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 111 Domneasca Street, 800201 Galati, Romania
Ioana Otilia Ghinea
Faculty of Sciences and Environment, Department of Chemistry Physical and Environment, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 111 Domneasca Street, 800201 Galati, Romania
Bianca Furdui
Faculty of Sciences and Environment, Department of Chemistry Physical and Environment, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 111 Domneasca Street, 800201 Galati, Romania
Durand Dah-Nouvlessounon
Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Typing in Microbiology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou 05BP1604, Benin
Robert Raclea
Imperial College London, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Teodor Costache
Research Center for Instrumental Analysis SCIENT, 1E Petre Ispirescu Street, 077167 Tancabesti, Ilfov, Romania
Iulia Elena Cucolea
Research Center for Instrumental Analysis SCIENT, 1E Petre Ispirescu Street, 077167 Tancabesti, Ilfov, Romania
Florentina Urlan
Research Center for Instrumental Analysis SCIENT, 1E Petre Ispirescu Street, 077167 Tancabesti, Ilfov, Romania
Rodica Mihaela Dinica
Faculty of Sciences and Environment, Department of Chemistry Physical and Environment, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, 111 Domneasca Street, 800201 Galati, Romania
Nymphaea alba is an aquatic flowering plant from the Nymphaeaceae family that has been used for hundreds of years in traditional herbal medicine. The plant is characterized by different phytochemicals, depending on the geographical location. Herein, we have carried out, for the first time, the separation and HPLC-MS/MS identification of some antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols and flavonoids from N. alba extracts from the Danube Delta Biosphere, and investigated their possible antiradical properties. An ultrasonic method has been exhaustively used for the extraction of the antioxidant compounds from the different anatomic parts of N. alba (fruit, flower, leaf, stem, and root). The extracts that were obtained using ultrasound irradiation showed a large polyphenol (19.42 mg EqGA/100 mg extract) and flavonoid (0.97 mg EqQ/100 mg extract) content. The fruit and flower extracts showed the highest antioxidant activity index (AAI). Among the 27 phytochemical compounds identified in all of the N. alba extracts, rutin and p-coumaric acid were found as the major components. The content of macroelements and microelements in N. alba extracts were compared, and it was found that their concentrations depend on the different anatomic parts of the plant. This research contributes to the study of Nymphaeaceae family, being the first exhaustive phytochemical study of N. alba from a wild population in Romania.
