Variation in bioactive compounds, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Iranian Chrysanthemum morifolium cultivars and determination of major polyphenolic compounds based on HPLC analysis

In this study, chemical profiling, phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as the antibacterial and antioxidant activity of 17 Iranian Chrysanthemum morifolium cultivars were evaluated. The high performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the presence of eight compounds with the major constituents including chlorogenic acid (0–934.7 mg/100 g), ferulic acid (12.7–171.6 mg/100 g), rutin (0–225.8 mg/100 g) and luteolin (2.83–213.5 mg/100 g). The cultivar “Ashna” with 63.6 mg tannic acid equivalents g−1 DW had the highest amount of total phenol, while the highest flavonoid content (13.52 mg quercetin equivalents g−1DW) was observed in cultivar “Shokoh”. The antioxidant activities of the samples were determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and the reducing power assay. The results showed that the cultivars “Poya3” (IC50 = 385.7) and “Dorna2” (IC50 = 489.4) possessed a higher antioxidant activity than the others in DPPH model system. Antimicrobial activity was also evaluated based on minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration values. MIC values were in the range of 5–10 mg ml−1 against Salmonella enterica and Bacillus cereus and 10–20 mg ml−1 against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Finally, Chrysanthemum cultivars with high bioactive compounds were introduced for beneficial usage in food and industrial applications.