Evaluation of calendulae flos in terms of phytotherapy

Calendula officinalis is a plant of the Asteraceae family with yellow-orange flowers. C. officinalis, naturally grown in Europe, is a plant grown for decorative purposes in gardens and parks in Turkey. In our country, the flowering branches are used internal to constipation, topically to wounds as well and the seeds are used as urine enhancer. The major active components are triterpene saponins and triterpenic esters. In addition, flavonoids, carotenoids and sesquiterpenic compounds are also present. There are wound healing, analgesic, antioxidant and anticandidal effects supported by clinical trials and also spasmolytic, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, hepatoprotective, hypolipitemic, antithyrosinase, antioedematous, anti-HIV and antigenotoxic effects. No toxic effects related to plant have been reported; but it has been observed that only very few people develop contact dermatitis. The plant should not be used in allergies to the Asteraceae family. In this study, four samples taken from herbalists and samples of Calendulae arvensis flos and Calendulae arvensis herb collected in Izmir were examined according to the European Pharmacopoeia. Loss on drying, total ash and ash insoluble in HCl were calculated. Thin Layer Chromatography was performed with routine, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid standards and calculate spectrophotometrically the percentage content of flavonoids, expressed as hyperoside. In all samples, loss in dryness suitable for pharmacopoeia was calculated. Of the six samples for which the total amount of ash was calculated, only two samples were found in the values accepted in the pharmacopoeia. Comparing the standards used in Thin Layer Chromatography with the samples, fluorescence zone were observed at points corresponding to the standards in all samples. The amount of flavonoid was calculated above the minimum value required for each sample. The highest amount is the sample of CA1 collected in İzmir and it is approximately two times higher than the sample of CO3 which has the lowest flavonoid content.