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Amino acid content and bioactive properties of Allium ursinum L. in Croatia

Allium ursinum L., also known as bear’s garlic or ramson is a perennial plant species from the Allium genus of the Amaryllidaceae family, known and consumed for centuries due to its medicinal properties. It is native and widely spread across Europe and Asia and prefers habitats with nutrient-rich and damp soils, in shaded areas such as forests. The medicinal properties of A. ursinum are attributed to a plethora of bioactive substances present in both bulbs and leaves such as S-alk(en)yl-cystein-sulfoxides and phenolic compounds, as well as other compounds such as lectins, polysaccharides, fatty acids, and amino acids. The main goal of this study was to collect and evaluate the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity, as well as the free amino acid content of A. ursinum populations at six different locations across Croatia. Antioxidant capacity measured by ORAC was higher in leaves compared to bulbs while threonine, arginine and methionine were more abundant in bulbs compared to leaves across all investigated locations. The Platak location had plants with the highest leaf antioxidant capacity measured by ORAC while Japetić and Vukomerec had higher bulb antioxidant capacity measured by FRAP compared to other investigated locations, except Platak. Total phenolic content did not differ between leaves and bulbs while leaf total phenolic content did not differ between locations. Total phenolic content in bulbs was higher in Vukomerec compared to Motovun and Rude. Positive correlations were observed between leaf antioxidant capacity measured by FRAP and DPPH and several leaf amino acids, including valine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine and cystine. Higher bulb total phenolic content was observed in bulbs with higher glutamic acid, arginine, valine, phenylalanine, and lysine content while the bulb antioxidant capacity measured by ORAC also positively correlated with aspartic acid, tyrosine, methionine, isoleucine, lysine, and cystine in addition to the aforementioned amino acids. Our study showed that all A. ursinum populations from the investigated locations had excellent bioactive properties.

Total pohenolic content, ORAC, FRAP, DPPH, ramson, bear's garlic, antioxidant capacity

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