Assessment of Correlation Analysis, Phytochemical Profile, and Biological Activities of Endemic Scorzonera Species from Turkey

Scorzonera species belong to the Asteraceae family comprising more than 25000 species. The present study aimed to examine the phytochemical profiles and biological activities of S. sandrasica Hartvig et Strid, S. coriacea A. Duran&Aksoy, and S. ahmet‐duranii Makbul&Coskuncelebi which are endemic species to Turkey. Flavonoids such as hyperoside, isoquercitrin, rutin, isoorientin, orientin, 7‐O‐methyl isoorientin, luteolin‐7‐O‐β‐glycoside, apigenin‐7‐O‐β‐glucoside, vitexin, isovitexin as well as caffeoylquinic acid derivatives including chlorogenic acid, 4,5‐O‐dicaffeoylquinic acid, and 1,5‐O‐dicaffeoylquinic acid contents were analyzed to clarify phytochemical content of the extracts. Aerial parts of the investigated extracts were determined as contain flavonoids in high amounts. Chlorogenic acid and its derivatives were detected in all investigated species, in varying amounts, both in the roots and aerial parts. S. coriacea aerial parts contained the highest total phenolic and flavonoids. The strongest inhibitory activities on ABTS and DPPH radicals were also observed with S. coriacea aerial parts by 8.07±0.28 and 13.94±0.53 μg/ml of IC50 values, respectively. Total phenolic contents of the extracts were significantly correlated with DPPH (r=−0.9842, p=0.0004) and ABTS free radical scavenging (r=−0.9870, p=0.0003) and total antioxidant capacity (r=0.8173, p=0.0470), as well as total flavonoid contents (r=0.8820, p=0.0201). S. sandrasica aerial parts and S. ahmet‐duranii roots exhibited the greatest red blood cell membrane protection and protein denaturation inhibition, respectively. From the phytochemical point of view, all the selected species were analyzed for the first time.