STUDY OF COMPARATIVE EXTRACTABILITY OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES FROM ST. JOHN’S WORT HERB OF VARIOUS SERIES

Aim. To study extractability of a complex of active and related substances and flavonoids from St. Johns Wort herb of various series and anufacturers and identification of factors affecting the quality of aqueous extracts from St. Johns Wort herb. Materials and Methods. The object of study was St. Johns Wort herb of four series of two manufacturers, and aqueous extracts obtained from these series of St. Johns Wort herb. Aqueous extracts were made in the infusion mode in accordance with the requirements of the Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation №751n of October 26, 2015. The ratio of raw materials and extractive solvent was 8:100. The obtained aqueous extracts were evaluated by color and smell parameters. A complex of biologically active and related substances extracted from St. Johns Wort herb was evaluated by the solid residue index. Quantitative determination of flavonoids in recalculation for rutin was performed by spectrophotometric method on Bio-RADSmartSpecPlus spectrophotometer at 410 nm wave length. Results. Raw materials of different series differ in external characteristics and fineness. Raw materials of 221218 series contain 17.46% of particles larger than 3 mm, and raw materials of 20218 series – 4.92%. Raw materials of 221218 series include more particles of the coarse parts of the plant. Raw materials of 10119 series have a more uniform distribution of particles by fractions, but a rather large number of small particles. The maximal solid residue was obtained from raw materials of 20218 series – 1.7716%, the minimal – from raw materials of 221218 series – 0.6183%. The maximal flavonoid content was found in aqueous extract obtained from raw materials of 20218 series – 1.988%, the minimal content – from raw materials of 221218 series – 0.6183%. A sufficiently high yield of flavonoids in the aqueous extract was established for raw materials of 10119 series – 1.9711%. Conclusions. It was found that raw materials containing more soft parts of plants and characterized by the presence of a higher percent of fine fractions of particles, have the best extractability. At present, in the SP (Russia) of the 14th edition, only fractions of St. Johns Wort herb with a particle size of more than 7 mm and less than 0.18 mm are normalized. In our opinion, it is reasonable to include requirements to particle size and their content for the main fractions of the feedstock.