Prospects for the design of novel drugs based on fresh Emerson’s thorn (Crataegus submollis) berries

Introduction. Emerson’s thorn (Crataegus submollis Sarg.) is widely cultivated in the Russian Federation. The berries of Emerson’s thorn have a similar chemical composition to those of pharmacopoeial species of the genus Crataegus, so they are of great interest in terms of a new raw source of medicinal herb preparations. Objective: to develop a procedure to comprehensively process fresh Emerson’s thorn berries to prepare juice, pectins, and berry pulp. Material and methods. Fresh Emerson’s thorn (Crataegus submollis Sarg.) berries gathered at their complete ripening, freshly pressed plant juices, pectins, and berry pulp were used as an investigation object. The amount of flavonoids calculated with reference to catechin was determined by direct spectrophotometry. Results. The investigations showed that Emerson’s thorn berries should undergo comprehensive processing that could simultaneously produce juice, pectins, and berry pulp. The amount of flavonoids calculated with reference to catechin was estimated to be 0.80% in the fresh Emerson’s thorn berries and 0.41% in the berry juice, which exceeds this value in the hawthorn tincture. The amount of flavonoids in the dried fruit pulp was 2.76%. Conclusion. The authors developed the scheme for comprehensive processing of fresh Emerson’s thorn berries, which allows juice, pectins, and berry pulp to be produced. Fresh Emerson’s thorn berries, their raw materials, juice, and pulp should be standardized by direct spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 282 nm to determine the amount of flavonoids calculated with reference to catechin.