GC-MS profiling of bioactive extracts from Haberlea rhodopensis: an endemic resurrection plant

GC-MS metabolic profiling of the apolar and polar fractions from methanolic extracts of Haberlea rhodopensis revealed more than one hundred compounds (amino acids, fatty acids, phenolic acids, sterols, glycerides, saccharides, etc.). Bioactivity assays showed that the polar fractions possessed strong free radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 19.95 +/- 14.11 mu g ml(-1) for fresh leaves and 50.04 +/- 23.16 mu g ml(-1) for desiccated leaves), while both the polar and apolar fractions failed to provoke any significant cytotoxic effects against the tested cell lines. Five compounds possessing antiradical activity were identified - syringic, vanillic, caffeic, dihydrocaffeic and p-coumaric acids.