Simultaneous determination of selected flavonoids from different Cistus species by HPLC-PDA

A rapid and simple high-performance liquid chromatography method with a Photo Diode Array (PDA) detector is developed for the simultaneous analysis of seven kaempferol, quercetin and myricetin derivatives along with an acylated flavonoid glycoside; trans-tiliroside from different Cistus species. In this study, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the methanolic extracts of three Cistus species (C. creticus L., C. laurifolius L. and C. salviifolius L.) growing in Anatolia in terms of characterization of flavonoid compounds were performed by RP-HPLC for the first time. Trans-tiliroside, a mono-coumaroyl kaempferol glucoside was found to be the most abundant flavonoid in C. salviifolius (0.276 +/- 0.003 g/100 g(extract)) and C. creticus (0.253 +/- 0.001 g/100 g(extract)) while hyperin (0.149 +/- 0.004 g/100 g(extract)) and myricetin 3-O-ss-galactopyranoside (0.139 +/- 0.006 g/100 g(extract)) were found to be the most intense flavonoids in C. laurifolius samples. The described HPLC method appears suitable for the determination of the Cistus flavonols and their glycosides and can be considered as an effective and alternative procedure for the identification and quantification of this important class of biologically active compounds.