MOSCOW, 29 Mar. Scientists from the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University have discovered new beneficial properties of common tansy, including a decrease in the frequency of cell mutations, improved oxygen uptake, antioxidant, antimicrobial and cardioprotective effects. The results of the study are published in Pharmaceutics.
The name of the plant Tanacetum vulgare L. (common tansy) comes from the Greek word athanasia — «immortality». Tansy is often used in balms, cosmetics, dyes, insecticides, or natural preservatives. It grows in Russia, North Korea, Japan, Northern Europe, China and North America.
As scientists note, the content of microelements in a plant changes depending on the place of growth. For example, the essential oil of tansy from the Baltic region has a more diverse composition — it contains 15 different components.
For the study, scientists manually collected tansy in the Kaliningrad region, then dried it in natural conditions and carried out the extraction. To determine useful substances, the method of high performance liquid chromatography was used, after which their properties were evaluated in the laboratory.
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"We have isolated biologically active substances (BAS) from common tansy growing in the Baltic region. As part of the study, it was possible to confirm the properties of tansy already described in the literature, as well as to discover new ones,” said Stanislav Sukhikh, head of the Laboratory of Microbiology and Biotechnology of the BFU.
In particular, it turned out that biologically active substances contained in tansy can affect mutagenic cells, help reduce hypoxia cells, and also show general antioxidant, antimicrobial and cardioprotective effects.
Scientists say this means that tansy can be used to develop new geroprotective products designed to support human activity and longevity. Moreover, local raw materials are always more profitable for production, they emphasize.
«We consider tansy as a promising plant in terms of geroprotective products due to its beneficial properties,» said Stanislav Sukhikh.
Results research will allow the development of specific products based on tansy for the food industry, cosmetics and other industries. In addition, IKBFU specialists plan to study Tanacetum vulgare L. from other regions to find out if samples from there have the same properties as Baltic tansy.
The Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University is a participant in the Priority 2030 program.