Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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BIOSOLIDS’ USE INFLUENCES THE SYNTHESIS OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS AND THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF BASIL EXTRACTS FOR PHYTOPHARMACOLOGICAL PURPOSES

MARIAN BURDUCEA 1, MIRELA ARDELEAN 2*, CRISTINA POPA 3, ANDREI LOBIUC 4, TEODORA DANIELA MARTI 5, CRISTIAN-ALIN BARBACARIU 1

1“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Research and Development Station for Aquaculture and Aquatic Ecology, km 5 IașiCiurea Road, 700718, Iași, Romania
2“Vasile Goldiș” Western University of Arad, “Aurel Ardelean” Institute of Life Sciences, 94 Revoluției Boulevard, 310025,
Arad, Romania
3“Aron Cotruș” Gymnasium School, 20 Petru Rareș Street, 310210, Arad, Romania 4“Ștefan cel Mare” University, 13 Universității Street, 720229, Suceava, Romania
5“Vasile Goldiș” Western University of Arad, Department of Microbiology, Virusology and Parasitology, 94 Revoluției Boulevard, 310025, Arad, Romania

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Basil is a medicinal plant well-known for the phenolic compounds that it contains. The objective of our study was to test the effects of biosolids on the concentration of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and some morpho-physiological parameters of basil, Aromat de Buzău cultivar, in order to establish an optimal dose for application. The treatments used were represented by 5 doses of biosolids (V1 - 1%, V2 - 5%, V3 - 10%, V4 - 15% and V5 - 20%) mixed with eroded soil (v/v). The total phenolic content varied between 25 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalent)/g of fresh weight (f.w.) (V5) and 28 mg GAE/g f.w. (V1), while the total flavonoid content varied between 20 mg QE (quercetin equivalent)/g f.w. (V5) and 24 mg QE/g f.w. (V1). Regarding the antioxidant activity of basil extracts expressed by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) inhibition, a direct correlation with the phenolic content was observed, the values being situated between 56% (V5) and 67% (V1). The highest chlorophyll-a content was recorded for V4 and V5 treatments (1.28 mg/g f.w.), the highest chlorophyll-b content was recorded for V2 and V3 (0.45 mg/g f.w.), while the highest carotenoid content was obtained in the case of V2 (0.26 mg/g f.w.). Regarding the chlorophyll fluorescence, no significant variations were registered. In terms of production, the best results were registered for V3 (172 g/plant) and the lowest for V1 (118 g/plant). In conclusion, the use of biosolids in low concentration (1%, 5%, and 10%) for the fertilization of basil had a stimulating effect on the synthesis of phenolic compounds, also contributing to the increase of plant production, with a major impact for further pharmacological purposes.