Chemical Properties of Wild Cistus creticus L. and Cistus salviifolius L. Species at Different Development Stages

The seasonal variations are important exogenous factors that cause differences in the chemical properties of the plants. The primary objective of this study was to assess the chemical properties of two Cistus species (Cistus creticus L. and Cistus salviifolius L.), which are widely utilized in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, and veterinary industries, taking into account seasonal variations. The C. creticus and C. salviifolius plant samples were collected during the early flowering, full flowering, and fruit maturity stages. Then, the 50% EtOH extract of each plant was prepared, and their total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride colorimetric methods, respectively. In the early flowering stage period the C. creticus plant’s both total phenol (CC1: 105.695 ± 2.657 mg/g, CC2: 120.260 ± 3.986 mg/g, CC3: 123.739 ± 2.677 mg/g) and the flavonoid (CC1: 8.298 ± 0.481 mg/g, CC2: 10.116± 1.659 mg/g, 11.935 ± 1.120 mg/g) contents were the highest. The C. salviifolius plant’s total phenol content was the highest in the fruit maturity stage period (CS1: 151.565 ± 3.549 mg/g, CS2: 138.304 ± 2.551 mg/g, CS3: 132.652 ± 3.779 mg/g) while the total flavonoid content was the highest in the early flowering stage period (CS1: 10.896 ± 1.179 mg/g, CS2: 10.246 ± 1.196 mg/g, CS3: 9.077 ± 1.981 mg/g). To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to demonstrate the effect of seasonal variations on the total phenolic and total flavonoid compounds of C. creticus and C. salviifolius, specifically during the periods when they contained the highest levels.