Calendula spp. flowers as pleasant reservoir of valuable phytochemicals

The genus Calendula , belonging to the Asteraceae family with about 20 species native of the Mediterranean region, has been used from Greeks, Indian and Arabic cultures since ancient time [ 1 ]. Nowadays, calendula is worldwide cultivated as ornamental, therapeutic and health-promoting plant. Particularly, flowers are commonly utilized for medicinal, pharmacological and wellness purposes, owning a wide spectrum of biological activities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral. All these properties are related to the content of several classes of secondary metabolites such as polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, terpenes, sterols, saponins, carotenoids [ 1 ]. In Italy, Calendula officinalis is the most cultivated and Calendula maritima is endangered, growing in some coastal areas of Sicily.This study is carried out on their flower heads, lyophilized and extracted with a green solvent. In particular, a 60% ethanol extraction was carried out with ultrasonic support, followed by partitioning of the extracts with increasing solvent polarity (petroleum ether, dichloromethane and butanol). The butanolic extracts were then subjected to chromatographic separation on a Sephadex LH-20 column [ 2 ]. The bioassays conducted on all fractions allowed to identify saponins and phenolic compounds as leading classes of bioactive compounds, both in C. officinalis and in C. maritima flowers. This research is propaedeutic for the overall chemical and biological characterisation of the health-promoting molecules of C. officinalis and C. maritima flowers. In addition, these data will be useful for promoting the protection and valorization of Mediterranean plant species with many potential applications in different fields for human well-being. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany