Volatile compounds from Heracleum sphondylium L. Leaves and Fruits as identified by GC/MS

The genus Heracleum (Apiaceae) comprises mostly perennial, rarely biennial herbs. They are found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and most species of the genus are known to cause photo- dermatitis. Among the Heracleum species available in Romania, Heracleum sphondylium L. (hogweed) is used in folk medicine. Moreover, in the last decade, it has become very popular in local herbal medicine.

There is a wide range of dietary supplements recommended in various diseases related to hormone balance. From the comprehensive examination of Heracleum sphondylium, in this paper, we report the results of the examination of the essential oil. The essential oil from immature fruits, mature fruits and leaves of Heracleum sphondylium collected from Romania was isolated by hydrodistillation. A GC-MS analysis was carried out with a 7890B GC- 5977A MSD system (Agilent Technologies). The identification of the constituents was achieved from their retention indices and comparison of their MS data with the computer library database and literature data. The immature fruit oil was found to contain octyl acetate, n- octanol, octyl hexanoate and vinyl cyclohexane as main constituents. The mature fruit oil was found to contain fewer compounds than the immature ones, with octyl acetate, n-octacosane and octyl hexanoate as main compounds. In the essential oil obtained from the leaves, seven compounds were identified with nonacosane and hexadecanoic acid as main constituents.

Funding This work was supported by the University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology “George Emil Palade” of Târgu Mureş Research Grant number 164/17/10.01. 2023.

 

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Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023