While the flowers of Matricaria recutita L., German chamomile, are widely used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, little is known about its roots, which are used in complementary medicine for the preparation of aqueous fermented extracts for the treatment of cramps and anxiety. To broaden the understanding of the active principles involved, a model fermentation approach was developed and fermentates were compared to commercially manufactured tinctures. Coumarins and hydroxycinnamates were among the major secondary metabolites characterized using HPLC-MSⁿ. After six months of fermentation and storage, low-molecular organic acids were detected by GC-MS. Fermentation contributed to the stabilization of antioxidant and radical scavenging activities, which were in a range of about 8–10 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight and 20–24 mg trolox equivalents/g dry weight, determined by Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH assays, respectively. In addition, antibacterial activities of the extracts against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria increased during the first week of fermentation. Fermentates were neither cytotoxic nor pro- or anti-inflammatory. Thus, fermentation of chamomile roots is a suitable method for the safe production of biofunctional aqueous chamomile root extracts that remain stable without the addition of synthetic preservatives.

中文翻译：

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发酵对水母菊根提取物的植物化学特征和生物活性特征的影响

虽然德国洋甘菊Matricaria recutita L.的花被广泛用于药用和美容目的，但人们对它的根却知之甚少，它的根被用于补充药物中，用于制备水性发酵提取物，用于治疗痉挛和焦虑。为了扩大对所涉及活性成分的理解，开发了一种模型发酵方法，并将发酵物与商业生产的酊剂进行了比较。香豆素和羟基肉桂酸酯是使用 HPLC- ^MS表征的主要次生代谢物。经过六个月的发酵和储存，GC-MS检测到低分子有机酸。发酵有助于稳定抗氧化和自由基清除活性，通过 Folin-Ciocalteu 和 DPPH 测定确定，其范围约为 8-10 毫克没食子酸当量/克干重和 20-24 毫克维生素E当量/克干重， 分别。此外，在发酵的第一周，提取物对革兰氏阳性菌和阴性菌的抗菌活性增强。发酵产物既不具有细胞毒性，也不具有促炎或抗炎作用。因此，洋甘菊根的发酵是安全生产生物功能水性洋甘菊根提取物的合适方法，该提取物在不添加合成防腐剂的情况下保持稳定。