Chamomile, just a relaxing beverage? There is much more. Bioactive lipophilic compounds from Matricaria recutita: characterization and quantification

Chamomile capitula (Matricaria recutita) have been used for centuries in teas as relaxing sleep aid but recently many publications report therapeutic properties of lipophilic compounds in this plant. The main active constituents of the chamomile essential oil are chamazulene, trans-β-farnesene, α-bisabolol, bisabolone, bisabolol oxide A and B. In particular, chamazulene is responsible for the deep blue colour of oil and has been found to possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity. Antibacterial and antiulcer properties have been proved for αbisabolol from several experimental models. Thus, it is important to have at disposal a reliable method for the determination of these active constituents. An HPLC method has been developed for the analysis of lipophilic compounds in Matricaria oils using a RP-C18 column, a mobile phase consisting of phosphate buffer and acetonitrile and a diode-array detector. Moreover, a TLC procedure has been carried out to identify all the analytes and a silica-column was used for bisabolone and bisabolol oxide B purification from commercial oil. HPLC preliminary results were in good agreement with those obtained from GC analyses, performed according to European Pharmacopoeia.