Evaluation of some plant materials sold as "Safflower flower" (Carthami flos) in the market in terms of European pharmacopoeia standards

Carthamus tinctorius L. (Asteraceae), known as safflower, is an important medicinal plant that grows in some countries such as India, China, Mexico, Australia, Turkey and Iran. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used in the treatment of many diseases such as stroke, gynecological diseases, coronary heart diseases and hypertension. Bioactivity studies on its flowers showed that it has antioxidant, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, analgesic, antifibrous and anticoagulant effects. As a result of phytochemical studies, some secondary metabolites including flavonoid, alkaloid, phenolic acid, lignan, phloroglucinol, polyacetylene and carotenoid derivatives were obtained from the flowers of the plant. In this study, the compliance of 13 plant samples obtained from the market with the name of safflower flower, to the standards specified in the "Carthami flos" monograph in the European Pharmacopoeia 10.0 was investigated. Microscopic and macroscopic examinations were made on the drugs, and at the same time, the foreign matter, moisture, ash, acid-insoluble ash and total flavonoid amounts of the herbal drugs were examined. In addition, chemical profiles of the plant materials were determined by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and comparisons were made with the values specified in European Pharmacopoeia 10.0. When the the results were evaluates as a whole, none of the samples met the quality criteria of the "Carthami flos" monograph that is listed in the European Pharmacopoeia 10.0.