Determination of some phenolic compounds in Crocus sativus L. corms and its antioxidant activities study

Abstract

It is well known that phenolic compounds are constituents of many plants. In this study, the total phenolics content in Crocus sativus L. corms in dormancy and waking stages were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Analysis was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after silylation by N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyl trifluroacetamide (MSTFA) + %1 trimethyl iodosilane (TMIS). Numerous compounds were detected and 11 compounds were identified. The highest phenolics content in waking corms was observed for gentisic acid (5.693 ± 0.057 μg/g) and the lowest for gallic acid (0.416 ± 0.006 μg/g); also these two phenolic compounds are the highest (0.929 ± 0.015 μg/g) and lowest (0.017 ± 0.001 μg/g) phenolics in dormant corms, respectively. The results from quantization and GC-MS analysis showed a high concentration of phenolic compounds in waking corms than the dormant stage. Furthermore, the radical scavenging activities of saffron corms were studied by 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test and EC50 values were determined about 2055 ppm and 8274 ppm for waking and dormant corms, respectively.