Abstract Detail

Society for Economic Botany/BSA Economic Botany Section

Vickers, Amanda [1], Brosi, Sunshine [2], Howell, James [3], Puthoff, David [2].

Chromatographic Quantification of Medicinal Compounds in Flowering and Non-flowering Wild-Harvested Actaea racemosa L.

Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa L.) is a perennial herb native to deciduous woodlands in eastern North America producing a flowering raceme persistent from midsummer into the fall. Traditionally, black cohosh has been used as aspecific remedy for musculoskeletal pain and to support uterine function.Today, extracts of black cohosh are marketed primarily for use in relieving hotflashes associated with menopause. A majority of the raw material which supplies the global market for black cohosh products is harvested from naturally occurring wild populations in Appalachian woodlands. Although floral characteristics greatly assist correct differentiation between A.racemosa and the concurrent species A.pachypoda Ell. and A. podocarpa DC., there is currently no incentive for wild harvesters to select only flowering individuals. This research addresses the question of whether harvest based on the presence or absence of a flowering raceme could allow a wild harvester to increase the yield of medicinal constituents in the rhizomes, while insuring correct identification based on floral characteristics. Rhizomes of flowering and non-flowering black cohosh plants were quantified using HPLC with PDA and UPLC with MS. The levels of several active ingredients including actein, 23-epi-26 deoxyactein, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and kaempferol were quantified. Plants which had produced a flowering raceme failed to differ in rhizome mass from those which had not (p = 0.429) indicating no negative impact of selection criteria on weight of harvested rhizome. In addition to yielding comparisons that are directly applicable to wild harvesting, intensive quantitative analysis will allow comparison with both cultivated and cell-cultured plant material. Improvements in the ability to produce these compounds in vitro will also enable conservation efforts by reducing demand on wild populations.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Frostburg State University, Biology, 100 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD, 21532, USA
2 - Frostburg State University, Biology, 101 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD, 21532, USA
3 - Allegany College of Maryland , Biology, 12401 Willow Brook Road, Cumberland, MD, 21502, USA

Keywords:
Actaea racemosa
triterpene glycosides
black cohosh
wild harvest
appalachian
Chromatography
Quantification.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Khorassan Ballroom/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:45 PM
Number: PEN010
Abstract ID:429