Chemical constituents, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of essential oil from the flowering aerial parts of Heracleum moellendorffii Hance

Abstract

The conventional use of Heracleum moellendorffii Hance is for wind dispelling and toxin removal. This research aims to enhance the understanding of the flowering aerial parts of this plant by analyzing its volatile oil. Hydrodistillation was employed to extract the essential oil, which was subsequently analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The analysis revealed the presence of 50 compounds, which accounted for 92.67% of the oil’s composition. The major constituents include germacrene D (21.78%), n-octyl acetate (19.57%), β-caryophyllene (7.35%), and octyl butyrate (4.36%). The antioxidant potential of the volatile oil was evaluated through six separate experiments, demonstrating significant scavenging abilities against 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (IC₅₀, 62.7 μg/mL), hydroxyl radicals (IC₅₀, 1611.1 μg/mL), and superoxide radicals (16.8%). However, it exhibited weak scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (IC₅₀, 5827.0 μg/mL), and had low FRAP values. No CUPRAC activity was observed. Additionally, the antibacterial properties of the volatile oil were assessed against four common pathogenic bacteria, namely Escherichia coli, Aerogenic bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus subtilis). The findings exhibited potent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (MIC: 16 mg/mL) and Aerogenic bacterium (MIC: 1 mg/mL). However, the volatile oil exhibited weaker antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (MIC: 8 mg/mL) and Bacillus subtilis (MIC: 64 mg/mL).

Keywords:

• Heracleum moellendorffii Hance
• essential oil
• chemical composition
• biological activity

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Escudero-Gilete M. Luisa, Senior Editor, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

SUBJECTS:

• Pharmacology
• food chemistry
• medicine

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Project of The Education Department of Jilin Province [No. JJKH20240652KJ]; Jilin Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security [No. 2023QN34]; and Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Jilin Province [No. 2023091].

Notes on contributors

Hao Zang

Dr. Hao Zang is a full-time professor at Tonghua Normal University in the School of Pharmacy and Medicine, where he teaches multiple courses to students. His research interests include component analysis and pharmacological evaluation of medicinal and edible plants.