AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF VEGETATIVE ORGANS DACTYLORHIZA MACULATA (L.) SOÓ (ORCHIDACEAE)
Amino acid composition of aboveground and underground vegetative organs of Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó (Orchidaceae), one of the representatives of the tuberoid species of orchids growing under the natural conditions of the center of European Russia, was detected using the method of zone capillary electrophoresis. The presence of 15 amino acids in the plant material, nine of them are «essential» (lysine, phenylalanine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, valine, threonine, tryptophan) was established. The highest total amino acid content is characteristic of the leaves, the smallest for the old (wintered) caulorrhizous tuberoids. Among the identified amino acids in the plant material of D. maculata, the maximum total content is of leucine, the minimum are of tryptophan and methionine. The vegetative organs are also rich in alanine, arginine, valine and phenylalanine. The total content of amino acids in young caulorrhizous tuberoids is 38% higher than that in old storage organs. These differences are most pronounced for arginine, which is probably due to the spare function of this amino acid, containing more than 30% nitrogen. The got data indicate the promise of further studies of the amino acid composition of D. maculata and can characterize this species as a source of medicinal valuable substances with a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity.