BACKGROUND: Chartolepis intermedia Boiss. and Centaurea ruthenica Lam. are new medicinal plants containing pharmacologically active sesquiterpene lactones grossheimin and cynaropicrin. The article discusses the methods for the isolation of grossheimin and cynaropicrin and presents the results of studying the pharmacological activity of the isolated sesquiterpene lactones. AIM: The aim of this work was chemical, morphological, and anatomical study of Ch. intermedia Boiss. and C. ruthenica Lam., determination of pharmacological activity to substantiate the possibility of using these plants as medicinal raw materials. METHODS: The antitumor activity of grossheimin was studied in white outbred rats and mice in 12 strains of transplanted tumors. The antiparasitic activity of grossheimin and cynaropicrin was studied during replication of models of experimental opisthorchiasis on male golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) of the SPF category. Experiments in vivo were carried out on pastoral dogs infested with various types of helminths. The hypolipidemic activity of grossheimin was studied in experimental rats with a single intragastric administration of ethanol, causing acute hyperlipidemia. The antimicrobial activity of cynarpicrin was determined in relation to test strains of Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and Gram-negative strains of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the method of diffusion in agar. RESULTS: Characteristic diagnostic features for Ch. intermedia Boiss. and C. ruthenica Lam. were revealed, which make it possible to diagnose and standardize the medicinal plants under study. Pharmacological studies have shown that grossheimin and cynaropicrin have antitumor, antiparasitic, hypolipidemic, and antimicrobial activity. Grossheimin significantly inhibits the growth of sarcoma 180, Pliss lymphosarcoma, and Ehrlich’s solid tumor. On the model of acute hyperlipidemia caused by the introduction of ethanol, grossheimin had a hypolipidemic effect, reducing the serum levels of triacylglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Under in vitro conditions, grossheimin and cynaropicrin exhibited anthelmintic action against Opisthorchis felineus worms, and under in vivo conditions, cynaropicrin was up to 100% effective against tapeworm infections (Taenia sp.). CONCLUSION: It was determined that the quantitative yield of sesquiterpene lactones is provided by extraction of plant raw materials with an ethanol: water (1:1) mixture under the action of ultrasound. Characteristic diagnostic features for C. intermedia Boiss. and C. ruthenica Lam. were revealed, which make it possible to diagnose and standardize the medicinal plants under study.

The use of chemotaxonomic methods for studying plants allows you to help identify the ancestral and species affiliation of closely related plants. Chemotaxonomy is especially useful for systematically young groups of plant taxa, characterized by great variability in morphological features, difficulty in identifying and clarifying systematic affiliation. The article analyses the content of various groups of biologically active compounds in plants of the genus Centaurea L. to find the most convenient chemotaxonomic markers. As a result of the analysis of the variability of flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, polysaccharides and other biologically active substances of the genus Centaurea, it was found that «flavonoid profiles» are most species-specific, and sesquiterpene lactones can serve as an additional taxonomic feature at the level of subgenera and sections of this genus. More detailed studies are needed to map the distribution of biologically active compounds as chemotaxonomic markers.

The study of ontogenesis of Centaurea bipinnatifida (Trautv.) Tzvel. in the condition of the city of Karaganda The results of the study of the ontogenesis of Centaurea bipinnatifida in the conditions of introduction of the city of Karaganda are presented in the article. The introduction into the culture of this species is due to the need for its preservation and reproduction in order to obtain biologically active substances. Four age periods (latent, virgin, generative and senile) and nine age states (seedlings, juvenile, immature, adult vegetative, young generative, middle age generative, old generative, sub-senile and senile) have been identified. Morphological features of each period and state, degree of development of above-ground and underground organs are determined. The duration of the small cycle of ontogenesis in the culture of Centaurea bipinnatifida was 3-4 years, in nature-6-8 years. There has been an excess of crop plants over wild-growing individuals in size. The ontogenesis phases in culture are faster than under natural conditions.

The concept of conservation of biological diversity implies the need to study the state of plant populations that grow limited in nature and have a tendency to decline. In the Karaganda region, the list of rare species and local narrow endemics includes Centaurea bipinnatifida, whose habitation is confined to the Ulytau Mountains. To assess the state of 3 populations of this species, their ecological and phytocenotic structure, botanical features, morphometric indicators of plants, and the ratio of ontogenesis phases were studied. This species is confined to steppe and meadow-steppe areas in the foothills of Ulytau, less often lives along crushed and rocky gentle slopes. It was determined that the species composition of communities had from 41 to 51 species. The largest number of species is concentrated in families Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Poaceaeб and Fabaceae. Mesophytes dominated among ecological groups, herbaceous perennials predominated among life forms. The analysis of the morphometric parameters and age spectrum of Centaurea bipinnatifida made it possible to determine that the entire population is characterized as stable young and medium-age with a predominance of young or medium-age generative plants. Based on the field surveys one can recommend the development of a population monitoring program to maintain their structure and preserve the species under natural conditions.