Characterization of lipophilic oil fraction from Primula vulgaris: chemical profile, antioxidant capacity, and DNA damage assessment

Abstract

Primula vulgaris (Primulaceae) is a perennial plant widely recognized for its traditional therapeutic and cosmetic applications; however, information regarding the organ-dependent lipophilic composition and associated antioxidant properties remains limited. In this study, a comparative characterization of lipophilic oil fractions obtained from the root, leaf, and flower of P. vulgaris by hexane-based Soxhlet extraction was performed to elucidate differences in their chemical profiles and bioactivities. GC-MS-based profiling, supported by FTIR analysis, provided a lipophilic profiling supported by authentic reference standards and library matching, revealing clear compositional variations among plant organs. The flower oil was enriched in gamma-linolenic acid methyl ester, the leaf oil was dominated by stearic and oleic acid methyl esters, while oleic acid methyl ester was the predominant component in the root oil. Antioxidant properties evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging, CUPRAC, total phenolic content, and total flavonoid assays demonstrated that the root oil exhibited the highest reducing and radical scavenging capacity, whereas the leaf oil contained the highest flavonoid content, indicating functional divergence among organs. DNA interaction studies showed that none of the oil samples exerted genotoxic effects on plasmid DNA, although no protective activity against Fenton-induced DNA damage was observed. Overall, this organ-based comparative study highlights P. vulgaris as a promising source of lipophilic antioxidant constituents and provides useful characterization data with potential relevance for food-related and potential source of bioactive lipophilic constituents.