PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILE OF ETHANOLIC LEAF EXTRACTS OF ENDEMIC TRANS-ILI ALATAU SPECIES (CRATAEGUS DSUNGARICA, ROSA WEBBIANA, BERBERIS HETEROPODA) AND THEIR HEPATOPROTECTIVE POTENTIAL AS DETERMINED BY GC-MS ANALYSIS

Medicinal plants are considered promising sources of natural geroprotective agents due to their ability to reduce oxidative stress, suppress chronic inflammation, and slow the progression of age-related pathologies. In this study, a comparative analysis was conducted of compounds isolated from ethanol extracts of the leaves of three endemic species of the Alatau flora - Crataegus dsungarica Zabel. ex Lange., Rosa webbiana Wall. ex Royle, and Berberis heteropoda Schrenk. ex Fisch. & C.A. Mey. using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The separation of components was performed on a DB-WaxEtr capillary column using helium as the carrier gas; the identification of compounds was based on the Wiley 7th edition and NIST’02 spectral libraries. Among the identified compounds, the sesquiterpenoids azulene-4,7-diol (27.42%) and phytol (5.77%), known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, were predominant. Terpene alcohols - neophytadiene and phytol - as well as higher alkanes were detected in the leaves of Crataegus dsungarica. The leaf extract of Berberis heteropoda is dominated by phytol (44.58%), supplemented by neophytadiene (7.47%) and 1,2,3,5-cyclohexantetrol (16.55%). The combination of identified compounds-terpenoids, phenolic compounds, unsaturated fatty acids, and their derivatives - suggests that they have promising geroprotective effects; Further experimental studies are needed to verify this, focusing on the antioxidant effects, mitochondrial protection, and regulation of lipid metabolism.

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