Chemometrics-based Approach in Analysis of Arnicae flos

Introduction: Arnica montana flowers have a long history as herbal medicines for external use on injuries and rheumatic complaints. Objective: To investigate Arnicae flos of cultivated accessions from Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Finland, and Pharmacy store for phenolic derivatives and sesquiterpene lactones (STLs). Materials and Methods: Samples of Arnica from nine origins were prepared by ultrasound-assisted extraction with 80% methanol for phenolic compounds analysis. Subsequent reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation of the analytes was performed using gradient elution and ultraviolet detection at 280 and 310 nm (phenolic acids), and 360 nm (flavonoids). Total STLs were determined in chloroform extracts by solid-phase extraction-HPLC at 225 nm. The HPLC generated chromatographic data were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering (HC). Results: The highest total amount of phenolic acids was found in the sample from Botanical Garden at Joensuu University, Finland (2.36 mg/g dw). Astragalin, isoquercitrin, and isorhamnetin 3-glucoside were the main flavonol glycosides being present up to 3.37 mg/g (astragalin). Three well-defined clusters were distinguished by PCA and HC. Cluster C1 comprised of the German and Finnish accessions characterized by the highest content of flavonols. Cluster C2 included the Bulgarian and Polish samples presenting a low content of flavonoids. Cluster C3 consisted only of one sample from a pharmacy store. Conclusion: A validated HPLC method for simultaneous determination of phenolic acids, flavonoid glycosides, and aglycones in A. montana flowers was developed. The PCA loading plot showed that quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin can be used to distinguish different Arnica accessions.