Chemical Composition and Bioactivity of the Essential Oils of Heracleum pyrenaicum subsp. pollinianum and Heracleum orphanidis

Nat Prod Commun. 2016 Apr;11(4):529-34.

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the chemical composition, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of Heracleun pyrenaicum subsp. pollinianum (Bertol.) F. Pedrotti & Pignatti (HPP) and H. orphanidis Boiss. (HO) essential oils. The composition of the oils was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. β-Pinene (35.1%) was the most abundant compound in HPP root oil, while (Z)-falcarinol (80.0%) dominated in HO root oil. (E)-Nerolidol (28.5%) was the main constituent in HPP leaf oil. HPP fruit oil, as well as HO leaf and fruit oils mainly contained aliphatic esters, mostly octyl acetate (50.5-84.5%). Antimicrobial screening was performed by microdilution method against eight bacterial and eight fungal strains. The strongest antibacterial activity was shown by both root oils (MICs 0.02-0.60 mg/mL and MBCs 0.04-2.50 mg/mL for HPP, and MICs 0.02-1.25 mg/mL and MBCs 0.04-2.50 mg/mL for HO), while the best antifungal potential was exhibited by HPP fruit oil (MICs 0.30-0.60 mg/mL and MFCs 0.60-1.25 mg/mL) and HO leaf oil (MICs 0.15-0.63 mg/mL and MFCs 0.30-1.25 mg/mL). The tested root and fruit oils exhibited strong cytotoxic effect, which was determined by MTT test against HeLa (IC50 7.53-21.07 µg/mL) and LS174 (IC50 24.16-58.86 µg/mL) cell lines.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Infective Agents / analysis*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / analysis*
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • HeLa Cells
  • Heracleum / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Oils, Volatile / chemistry*

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
  • Oils, Volatile