Phenolic Compound Composition of <i>Sambucus nigra</i> L. Wild-Growing Plants from Kosovo

Objectives:The aim of this study was the determination of phenolic components in flowers and leaves of wild growing Sambucus nigra.Materials and methods: Plant materials were collected from eleven different localities in Kosovo.Before LC-DAD-ESI-MS n analysis an ultrasonic-assisted method with 70% methanol, for 30 min for extraction was used.Results: In total 34 and 37 different phenolic compounds were identified in flower and leaf extracts, respectively with a total content of 61321.82-85961.64mg/kg DW and 36136.62-93890.37mg/kg DW.In all analyzed extracts 15 phenolic acids, 20 flavonoids, 1 lignan, and 1 coumaroyl iridoid were detected.The major components were flavonoids, especially flavonols: quercetin-3-rutinoside, caffeoyl-kaempferol, and isorhamnetin-3-rutinoside, followed by phenolic acids: dicaffeoylquinic acid isomer caffeic acid derivative, dicaffeoylquinic acid isomer and dicaffeoylquinic acid isomer.Conclusion: Generally, the methanolic extracts of flowers have shown higher polyphenolic content compared to those found in leaves.The multivariate statistical analysis of the phenolic content of the samples resulted in PLS-DA models with appropriate correlation coefficients of 0.903 and 0.921 for flower and leaf extracts.The models revealed distinctive clustering patterns and the loading scatter plots depicted the unique phenolic compounds that were specific for each sample group.