Phenolic profiling of Veronica spp. grown in mountain, urban and sandy soil environments

Veronica (Plantaginaceae) genus is widely distributed in different habitats. The phenolic compounds of Veronica montana, Veronica polita and Veronica spuria were tentatively identified by HPLC-DAD–ESI/MS. The phenolic profiles showed that flavones were the major compounds (V. montana: 7 phenolic acids, 5 flavones, 4 phenylethanoids and 1 isoflavone; V. polita: 10 flavones, 5 phenolic acids, 2 phenylethanoids, 1 flavonol and 1 isoflavone; V. spuria: 10 phenolic acids, 5 flavones, 2 flavonols, 2 phenylethanoids and 1 isoflavone). V. spuria possessed the highest contents in all groups of phenolic compounds, except flavones, which did not show differences among the assayed species. Overall, these species might be considered good sources of phenolic compounds for industrial or pharmacological applications.