The Chemical Composition of the Fractions of the Aerial Part of Cultivated Chicory and Their Antioxidant Activity

Chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.) is a biennial or perennial herb of the Asteraceae family growing in the Russian Federation under natural conditions in meadows, forest glades, grassy slopes, as well as on wastelands, fields, over-grown dumps, and roadsides. Along with the wild-growing chicory, breeding varieties of cultivated plants are also known, intended for obtaining roots, while the aboveground part, which is a root rosette of leaves, is a production waste. The purpose of this study was to study the qualitative composition and antioxidant properties of biologically active compounds (BAC) of the aerial part of cultivated chicory and to assess the potential for using secondary raw materials of this plant in the pharmaceutical industry to produce drugs. As a result of the study by HPLC-UV-MS/MS, it was found that the phenolic complex of the aerial part of the cultivated chicory is represented by phenol carboxylic acids: esters of caffeic, ferulic, and coumaric acids with organic acids (quinic and tartaric) in various combinations; trace amounts of oxycoumarins (chicoriin); and flavonoids (glycosides of quercetin, luteolin and isorhamnetin). The study of the antioxidant properties of BAC fractions of different polarity showed that the ethyl acetate fraction has the highest activity. The main dominant compound of this fraction was cichoric acid, which suggests that it is this metabolite that makes a decisive contribution to the antioxidant activity of the fraction and the extract as a whole.