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Krol Т.A., Adamov G.V., Aksenov A.A., Sokolova E.V., Maslyakov V.Yu., Ossipov V.I., Balee D.N. Contents and composition of phenolic compounds in leaves of two phenotypes of Chamaenerion angustifolium. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya Biologiya [Agricultural Biology], 2026, Vol. 61, № 3, p. 561-574.
(how to cite this article)

doi: 10.15389/agrobiology.2026.3.561eng

UDC: 615.322:581.192

 

CONTENTS AND COMPOSITION OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN LEAVES OF TWO PHENOTYPES OF Chamaenerion angustifolium

Т.A. Krol ✉, G.V. Adamov, A.A. Aksenov, E.V. Sokolova, V.Yu. Maslyakov, V.I. Ossipov, D.N. Baleev

All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 7, ul. Grina, Moscow, 117216 Russia, e-mail
tatianakroll1@gmail.com (✉ corresponding author),grig.adamov@mail.ru,
andrejaaksenov@gmail.com, eka9739@yandex.ru, maslyakoff@mail.ru, ossipov@utu.fi, dbaleev@gmail.com

ORCID:
Krol T.A orcid.org/0000-0003-4642-651X
Maslyakov V.Yu. orcid.org/0000-0002-4590-3938
Adamov G.V. orcid.org/0000-0001-7347-175X
Ossipov V.I. orcid.org/0000-0002-8383-9965
Aksenov A.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-6097-9105
Baleev D.N. orcid.org/0000-0002-1228-0594
Sokolova E.V. orcid.org/0000-0002-7605-9688

Final revision received August 19, 2025
Accepted October 01, 2025

Chamaenerion angustifolium, or fireweed, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Onagraceae family, characterized by a high content of biologically active phenolic compounds and widely used in traditional medicine. This species is known for its strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, therefore finding application in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. In Russia, only one cultivar of this species is currently registered as a forage crop. The pink-flowered phenotype of C. angustifoliumis the most common in nature and has been extensively studied, while information on the composition and content of phenolic compounds in white-flowered plants is virtually nonexistent. This study, for the first time, establishes the absence of significant differences in the content of the dominant phenolic compounds (oenothein A and B) in the leaves of the pink-flowered and white-flowered phenotypes of C. angustifolium, while the content of flavonoids and phenolic acids does differ statistically significantly. It has been shown that leaves of C. angustifolium plants with white flowers may be a promising source of hydrolyzable tannins. The aim of our study was to investigate the composition and content of phenolic compounds in the leaves of two C. angustifolium phenotypes and to evaluate the potential use of white-flowered plants as raw materials for medicinal production. Samples were collected in the last ten days of June 2021, during the flowering period. The pink- and white-flowered C. angustifolium phenotypes were cultivated in an experimental field at the VILAR Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants (VILAR Biocollection, Moscow). Well-developed, disease- and pest-free leaves from the upper and middle layers were collected in dry weather during the first half of the day. For quantitative determination of phenolic compounds, a UPLC-UV chromatographic system (ACQUITY UPLC, Waters Corporation, USA) including a detector with a photodiode array was used. The detector range is 190-500 nm. Separation was performed on a chromatographic column ACQUITY UPLC® BEH Phenyl 1.7 mm 2.1×100 mm Column (Waters Corporation, Ireland). The spectra of phenolic compounds were recorded in the range of l = 190-500 nm. To obtain calibration curves, gallic acid (HiMedia Laboratories Pvt Ltd, India), chlorogenic acid (HiMedia Laboratories Pvt Ltd, India), and quercetin (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) standards were used. Detection was carried out at a wavelength corresponding to or close to the main absorption maximum of phenolic compound standards: 280 nm for gallic acid, 315 nm for chlorogenic acid, and 345 nm for flavonoids. When studying the composition of phenolic compounds and their identification, the analysis was performed by means of a chromatographic system equipped with a tandem mass spectrometric detector (LCMS-8045, Shimadzu Corporation, Japan), complete with an electrospray ionization system (ESI). It was shown that the leaves of the two phenotypes did not differ in the composition of phenolic compounds. A total of 34 compounds were identified: 13 hydrolyzable tannins, 5 phenolic acids and their derivatives, 13 flavonoids, and 3 flavan-3-ols. The molecular weight of ellagitannins ranged from 634 to 4704 Da. Quantitative differences were found only for neochlorogenic acid, coumaroylquinic acid, digalloyl glucose, oenothein A derivative, tellimagrandin I hexamer, quercetin galloyl hexoside, quercetin glucoside, quercetin glucuronide, myricetin (p-coumaroyl) glucoside, and kaempferol glucuronide. No phenotypic differences were found in the content of the main biologically active ellagitannins of C. angustifolium (oenothein A and B). The leaves of plants with pink flowers accumulated 44.46 mg/g of enothein B, while the leaves of plants with white flowers accumulated 47.85 mg/g. The leaves of pink-flowered C. angustifolium contained 23.49 mg/g of oenotheine A, while those of the white-flowered variety contained 22.07 mg/g. The total content of hydrolyzable tannins in these phenotypes also did not differ and amounted to 82.64±16.07 mg/g and 88.82±11.48 mg/g, respectively. At the same time, the leaves of C. angustifolium with white flowers contained significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower levels of phenolic acids and flavonoids. The accumulation of flavonoids was 4 times lower, and the amount of phenolic acids was approximately 2 times lower. Consequently, the leaves of plants with white flowers can also be used to produce medicinal products whose biological activity might be determined by ellagitannins.

Keywords: Chamaenerion angustifolium, fireweed, phenotypes, phenolic compounds, ellagitannins.

 

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