Essential oils of three cow parsnips – composition and activity against nosocomial and foodborne pathogens and food contaminants

Abstract

Although some widespread, native cow parsnips (Heracleum L. spp., Apiaceae) had broad medicinal and culinary applications throughout history, the knowledge about their volatile constituents is insufficient. This work investigates the composition and bioactivities of H. sphondylium L. (HSPH), H. sibiricum L. (HSIB) and H. montanum Schleich. ex Gaudin (HMON) essential oils. The composition was tested by GC and GC-MS. (Z)-β-Ocimene was the most abundant in HSPH (28.9%) and HMON (20.4%) root oils, while in HSIB root oil, β-pinene (26.2%), methyl eugenol (22.3%) and elemicin (25.6%) prevailed. Leaf and flower oils were dominated by various sesquiterpenes (germacrene D, β-sesquiphellandrene, (E)-β-farnesene and/or (E)-caryophyllene) and/or phenylpropanoids (apiole, methyl eugenol, elemicin and/or (Z)-isoelemicin). Octyl acetate (57.5-67.1%) was the main constituent of all fruit oils. The antimicrobial activity was screened by a microdilution method against eight bacteria and eight fungi. The strongest antimicrobial effect, in several cases better than the activity of antibiotics, was shown by HSPH (MICs = 0.12-3.30 mg mL) and HMON (MICs = 0.10-1.30 mg mL) flower oils against bacteria, and HSIB fruit oil against fungi (MICs = 0.15-0.40 mg mL). The MTT test revealed that the oils were not or weakly cytotoxic against human malignant HeLa, LS174 and/or A549 cells (except HSPH root oil; IC = 5.72-24.31 μg mL) and that tested oils were not toxic against human normal MRC-5 cells (at 200.00 μg mL). Significant activity observed against microorganisms that are the common cause of foodborne diseases, food contamination and/or hospital-acquired infections justifies certain traditional uses of the investigated plants and represents a good basis for further research of these Heracleum oils.

Mechanisms of vitamin D on skeletal muscle function: oxidative stress, energy metabolism and anabolic state

“…Intriguingly, essential oils of turmeric, oregano, dill, caraway, verveine and spearmint augmented the activity of both VDR and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) (Bartonkova et al 2018). The concentrations of essential oils used in this study are naturally occurring in foods and drinks (Usjak et al 2017). Non-genomic action of vitamin D, diversity in VDR regulation and the presence of numerous VDRE sites widens the range of possible explanations for the mechanism of vitamin D function in the human body and skeletal muscle.…”

Chemosystematic Significance of Essential Oil Constituents and Furanocoumarins of Underground Parts and Fruits of Nine Heracleum L. Taxa from Southeastern Europe

“…GC-FID and GC/MS analysis of the essential oils obtained from 18 samples of the fruits of nine investigated Heracleum taxa (nine analyzed in this work and nine previously analyzed samples [21][22][23][24][25] ) revealed 19 (orp1 2 oil) to 78 (ors1 oil) compounds, which comprised 89.0 % (pol4 oil) to 99.4 % (orp1 oil) of the total oils ( Previously, the fruit essential oils of H. sphondylium (from Keremma in France, Trento in Italy and Trondheim in Norway) and H. ternatum (from Elmayanı village and Kirikkale road in Turkey, and Montelago and Pian Grande in Italy) were analyzed. The composition of these fruit oils and those of corresponding Heracleum species investigated in the present study was similar, with some expected qualitative and quantitative differences, considering that the composition of essential oils depends on geographic origin, method of isolation and other external factors.…”

“…[7] This compound was not detected in the fruit oil of the plant from Slovenia, but apiole was dominant in its previously investigated flower oil (16.8 %). [23]…”

“…Multivariate statistical analysis consisted of principal component analysis (PCA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and unweighted pair-group arithmetic averages clustering (UPGMA). In the case of essential oils, the analysis included our previously published data on the oils of nine samples of both the underground parts and the fruits, [21][22][23][24][25] as well as additionally analyzed oils of seven samples of the underground parts and nine of the fruits. The acronyms of all analyzed samples, along with collection localities and dates, and voucher numbers of investigated Heracleum taxa are presented in Table 2.…”

Fatty Acids, Sterols, and Triterpenes of the Fruits of 8 Heracleum Taxa

“…The previous investigations were mainly focused on the composition of their essential oils, some of which exhibited significant bioactivities (eg, antibacterial, antifungal, cytostatic, anticonvulsive, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic, in some cases comparable with or even better than the effects of the reference drugs). [3][4][5][6][7][8] In the focus of the present study are 8 Heracleum taxa collected in southeastern Europe: Heracleum sphondylium L. (HSPH), Heracleum sibiricum L. (HSIB), Heracleum montanum Schleich. ex Gaudin (HMON), Heracleum ternatum Velen.…”