Hydroxycinnamic derivatives in Ilex aquifolium mother tincture

Ilex aquifolium belongs to the Aquifoliaceae family and is used in France as hydroethanolic Mother Tincture (MT) in homeopathic medicinal products. The aim of the present study was to establish the phytochemical content, stability and variability of the MT of Ilex aquifolium. Various hydroxycinnamic derivatives have been characterised in the MT on the basis of spectrometric data (NMR, MS, UV). Chlorogenic acid was the major compound. An accurate and simple HPLC-DAD method has been developed and validated for quantification. The results analyses obtained reveal a great variability in quantity of hydroxycinnamic derivatives content between different batches (Figure 1); but the proportion of each hydroxycinnamic derivate is quite similar between batches. This observation must be correlated with the different geographical origin of the plant material. Ilex aquifolium is currently crafted in the wild, implying compounds heterogeneity of plant material including phytoconstituent. Our results covering more than 10 years of MT production show that the variability is not age-dependent.

Figure 1: Variability of total hydroxycinnamic derivatives in Ilex aquifolium MT

Acknowledgement: David Scherberich of the Lyon Botanical Garden, F69006, Lyon, France.