Comparison of antioxidant, phenolic profile, melatonin, and volatile compounds of some selected plant samples

It was aimed to examine the antioxidant, phenolic profile, and volatile compound contents of seven different aromatic plant samples (broccoli, yarpuz, walnut leaves, marshmallow, wild clary, harmala, and common yarrow) collected from Adilcevaz district of Bitlis province in Türkiye. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) device was used for the volatile profile of the plant varieties. The most abundant volatile compounds were generally heptacosane compound that showed anticancer and antimicrobial effects. Piperitone oxide was detected only in yarpuz samples. Phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the plant samples were found to be highly significant (p < .01). When the amounts of total flavonoids were ranked from the largest to the smallest according to plant varieties, it was determined as wild clary > walnut leaves > yarpuz > common yarrow > marshmallow > harmala > broccoli. According to both antioxidant activity methods, wild clary had the lowest IC₅₀ (half-maximal inhibitory concentration) value, i.e. the highest antioxidant activity. The highest amount of epicatechin was determined in yarpuz (898.30 μg/g) and the lowest amount of epicatechin was determined in wild clary (86.09 μg/g). No epicatechin was detected in the other four plant samples. Among the samples, melatonin hormone was detected only in common yarrow, harmala, and broccoli and the highest value was determined in common yarrow (3996.27 ng/g). Therefore, it shows that plant samples are rich sources of phytochemicals that can play an important role in preventing the progression of many diseases related to oxidative stress in traditional medicine treatment as functional food sources.