Agastache rugosa Kuntze (Korean mint) is used as a spice and in folk medicine in East Asia. The present study identified a total of 18 polyphenols from the flower, leaf, stem and roots of this plant using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Fourteen of these compounds had not previously been identified in these plant tissues. Each polyphenol was validated in comparison with external calibration curves constructed using structurally related compounds, with determination coefficients >0.9993. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.092-0.650 and 0.307-2.167 mg/L, respectively. Recoveries of 61.92-116.44% were observed at two spiking levels, with 0.91-11% precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (except anthraquinone spiked at 10 mg/L). Hydroxycinnamic acid was the most abundant compound in the root, while the flowers showed the highest total flavonoid level. Antioxidant activities, determined in terms of reducing power, Fe(2+) chelating activity and the radical scavenging activities using α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl and 2-2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid, increased in a concentration-dependent manner; the highest activity was identified in the stems, followed by leaves > flowers > roots. These findings indicate that A. rugosa is a good source of bioactive compounds and can be used as a functional food.
Keywords: Agastache rugosa Kuntze; antioxidant activity; flavonoid; herbal medicine; herbal spice; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; polyphenol.
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.