## 1 Introduction  
The biologic activity of compounds, known as bioactivity, refers to the ability to determine a positive or negative physiological response and to modify the metabolism at the cellular, tissue or organ level [1]. These compounds can have a synthetical origin or can be natural products synthesized by plants, fungi, bacteria or various living organisms. The biological activity is usually measured using a bioassay test, generally in a dose-dependent manner, by registering the dose-response averages curves [2]. While compound bioactivity refers to the interaction or effect on any cell, tissue, organ or human body level, pharmacological activity is usually considered to describe the beneficial effects, i.e., the effects of drug candidates, as well as the toxicity of a substance [2]. A series of scientific studies conducted in the late 2000s demonstrated the exploitable bioactivities in the pharmaceutic industry of Edelweiss, i.e., _Leontopodium alpium_ Cass. or _L. nivale_ subsp. _alpinum_ (Cass.) [PERSON], such as (a) strong anti-oedematous activity [3]; (b) anti-inflammatory properties revealed via the ex vitro inhibition of leukotriene synthesis [4]; (c) potent antioxidative capacity due to a newly discovered compound named leontopodic acid B, which even protects DNA against oxidative damage [5]; (d) having chemoprotective properties manifested by an increase in detoxifying enzymes, the main mechanism of antioxidant-mediated chemoprevention [6]; (e) antinociceptive effects associated with the inhibition of the prostanoid system or lipoxygenase/cyclooxygenase activity [3; 4; 7]; (f) antibacterial activity due to fatty acid constituents such as linolenic and linoleic acids [8]; (g) anti-neurodegenerative properties, which improve cholinergic transmission through the inhibition of acetylcholine esterase activity [9]; and (h) cardioprotective action exerted by inhibiting the intimal endothelial proliferation and reversed graft disease in pre-damaged vessels [10]. These findings were based on data from folk medicine, where Edelweiss has been used against abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dysentery and fever [7; 11; 12]. Aerial organs of Edelweiss have been used to attenuate inflammation and pain in the respiratory system (tonsillitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia), gastrointestinal system (gastritis and colitis) [13], joints (rheumatoid arthritis) [14], and tumour-affected tissues (skin and connective tissues in breast cancer) [15]. The aerial parts of _Leontopodium leontopodiudes_ [PERSON], a species mainly growing in the northeast and northwest regions of P. R. China, are commonly used to treat albuminuria, haematuria, acute or chronic nephritis, vagnitis, bronchopneumonia and gastric ulcer [13]. Due to the growing interest in its medicinal purposes, various biotechnologies have been developed to produce cellular mass rich in secondary metabolites. The most exploited in vitro culture techniques include the callus [12; 14; 16], cell suspensions [17], adventitious roots and hairy roots cultures [18; 19; 20]. For stimulating the production of certain compounds, different types of cultures were treated with various elicitors: physical, such as UV, LED light [16]; gamma radiation [21] or chemical, such as methyl jasmonate; silver nitrate or yeast extract [20]. The extracts from whole plants [22; 23], roots [3; 4; 9; 11; 18], aerial parts [3; 6; 12; 17], flowering aerial parts [5; 7], leaves [24], stems [25] or commercial extracts [26; 27] were used in various extraction procedures, while solvents included dichloromethane [3; 4; 11], ethanol [12; 28; 29] methanol [20; 25], CO\({}_{2}\)[7], acetonitrile [20], 1,3-butanediol [14], hot water [16] or other types of solvents [30]. Also, different fresh [26; 31; 32] or dry plant materials [30; 33] were analysed.