Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Potential of the Phytonutrient-Rich Decoction of Cichorium spinosum and C. intybus

Abstract

The Cretan diet, as the basis of the Mediterranean diet, has provided traditional remedies for the general well being of people through the long-established consumption of cooked wild greens and vegetables. The intake of the water decoctions of Cichorium spinosum and Cichorium intybus in the context of the daily dietary regime in Greece has been long associated with "liver detoxifying" properties. In the current study, we performed an in-depth investigation of the water decoctions traditionally prepared from C. spinosum and C. intybus through qualitative UHPLC-HRMS profiling and direct quantification of cichoric and caftaric acid as major antioxidant components of the decoction. In addition, we developed a one-step countercurrent chromatography method for the isolation of the two phenolic acids, along with a sulfoconjugate sesquiterpene lactone present only in the Cretan C. spinosum. All water decoctions were found not to be cytotoxic in human fibroblasts, whereas they all significantly reduced the intracellular reactive oxygen species, which is consistent with the major presence of strong antioxidant compounds such as cichoric acid. This work demonstrates that the intake of these decoctions in doses suggested by Greek traditional use is comparable to the ingestion of a phytomedical preparation of antioxidants. These results contribute to our current knowledge on the beneficial health effect of the Cretan diet.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Cichorium spinosum L. leaves in relation to developmental stage

“…The increase in antioxidant activity at the 3rd growth stage is highly associated with the increased content of bioactive compounds, such as ascorbic acid, phenolic acids and total phenolic compounds (Tables 2 and 5), whereas tocopherols content seems that is not significantly correlated with the antioxidant properties of C. spinosum leaves (Table 3). Similar results have been reported by Brieudes et al (2016), who evaluated the antioxidant properties of water decoctions of C. spinosum leaves and suggested a significant correlation of antioxidant potency with phenolic compounds. Pereira, Barros, Carvalho, and Ferreira (2011) have also suggested phenolic compounds content to be linearly correlated with antioxidant activity of various wild edible greens, with different correlations between the various classes of phenolic compounds and the tested assays.…”

“…Moreover, total phenolic compounds consisted mostly of phenolic acids, especially in the 3rd growth stage where 80% of total phenolic compounds were phenolic acids. Both compounds have been associated with various bioactive effects such as antiinflammatory, antioxidant and anti-obesity properties, while in vitro studies have confirmed their antidiabetic effects (Brieudes et al, 2016;Zhu, Wang, Du, Liu, & Liu, 2015). Therefore, considering the high content of leaves in these compounds at late developmental stages (3rd stage), alternative uses for pharmaceutical purposes can be proposed.…”

“…Zeghichi et al (2003) have also reported fluctuation of total phenolic compounds content in successively harvested C. spinosum leaves. According to Brieudes et al (2016), chicoric acid was one of the main antioxidant compounds detected in water decoctions of C. spinosum and C. intybus leaves, while Jaiswal, Kiprotich, and Kuhnert (2011) have identified the same phenolic acid in C. intybus. 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid has also been positively identified in C. intybus leaves in many studies so far (Carazzone, Mascherpa, Gazzani, & Papetti, 2013;Jaiswal et al, 2011).…”

Chemical composition and bioactive properties of Cichorium spinosum L. in relation to nitrate/ammonium nitrogen ratio

“…Other important compounds with bioactive properties are tocopherols, which are present in plant tissues in various isoforms, and their content may be also regulated through the nutrient solution composition . However, despite the beneficial effects of the various bioactive compounds detected in wild edible plants, several toxicity symptoms have been reported; therefore, cytotoxicity studies against normal and cancer cells have to be carried out prior to suggesting the consumption of such species …”

Increase in insulin sensitivity by the association of chicoric acid and chlorogenic acid contained in a natural chicoric acid extract (NCRAE) of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) for an antidiabetic effect

“…The presence of CQAs under mono and di-caffeoylquinic acids forms has been previously described by Milala et al (2009). The high content of chicoric acid rather described in lower quantity in roots than in the aerial parts of chicory (Al-Snafi et al, 2016;Brieudes et al, 2016) shows that the chromatography procedure we used allows to concentrate the caffeoyl derivatives. The presence of quercetin-3-O-glucuronide in NCRAE was described in the roots of chicory (Schultz et al, 2005).…”