Determination of phenylpropanoids in three Ballota species

Different parts of three Ballota species ( B. nigra, B. hirsuta , and B. rupestris ) have been analyzed for phenylpropanoid content by means of a simple extraction technique and a newly established TLC-densitometric method. The compounds studied were verbascoside (VE), forsythoside B (FB), and caffeoyl-malic acid (CM). The largest amounts were detected in B. rupestris - CM (0.30%) and VE (4.58%) in the leaves and FB (3.0%) in the roots, followed by B. nigra ; the smallest amounts were found in B. hirsuta - 0.08% CM, 1.64% VE, and 0.91% FB in the leaves. The absence of caffeoylmalic acid was characteristic of the roots only. B. nigra , the common representative of the genus in Hungary, was chosen for thorough study of variation of phenylpropanoids during the vegetative period. Amounts of the phenylpropanoids increased during the main and secondary flowering periods in June (FB, 6.00%; VE, 8.50%; CM, 0.45% in the leaves) and September (FB, 3.80%; VE, 7.00%;, CM, 0.35% in the leaves).