Comparative HPLC Analysis of Ferula elaeochytris Korovin and Ferula communis L. subsp. communis: Focus on Ferutinin and Ferulenol Content

Abstract

The roots of Ferula L. species are commonly used as aphrodisiacs in traditional medicine in variouscountries, including Türkiye. It is suggested in the literature that the major compound responsible forthe aphrodisiac effect in plants of the genus Ferula is ferutinin, a daucan-type sesquiterpene ester [1].However, some species such as Ferula communis L. subsp. communis are known to be toxic due totheir prenylated coumarin content, such as ferulenol [2]. The study aimed to perform preliminarycomparative chemical analysis of Ferula elaeochytris Korovin and Ferula communis L. subsp.communis ethanolic root extracts, with a focus on their ferutinin and ferulenol contents. Plant materialswere collected from their natural habitats in Türkiye. The ethanolic root extracts of the plants wereprepared. The ferutinin and ferulenol contents were determined by HPLC-PDA using calibration curvescreated with the relative reference standards. According to the results of our study, 10.48±0.007%ferutinin is detected in the extract of F. elaeochytris while ferulenol was not detected. In contrast, F.communis subsp. communis extract did not contain ferutinin but contained 3.35±0.002% ferulenol.Significant differences in chemical composition were observed between the two Ferula species. Inconclusion, the presence of ferulenol in F. communis subsp. communis extract indicates a potentialtoxicological risk and may limit its suitability for biological activity studies. F. elaeochytris can be asafer candidate due to its high ferutinin content and absence of detectable ferulenol. This studyrepresents a preliminary step prior to planned in vitro and in vivo investigations and it highlights theimportance of species identification and chemical profiling before biological and pharmacologicalactivity studies.