Chemical Composition of Essential Oils from Rare and Endangered Species-Eryngium maritimum L. and E. alpinum L.

Małgorzata Kikowska,Danuta Kalemba,Jolanta Dlugaszewska,Barbara Thiem

doi:10.3390/plants9040417

Abstract

In the present study, the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the organs of Eryngium maritimum and E. alpinum were analyzed by GC-FID-MS. The dominant constituents assessed in the essential oil of E. maritimum were germacrene D (45.2%) in the fruits; hexadecanoic acid (18.5%), menthol (16.8%), and menthone (10.9%) in the roots; 2,3,4-trimethylbenzaldehyde (11.3%) and germacrene D (10.5%) in the leaves; 2,3,4-trimethylbenzaldehyde (11.3%) in the shoot culture. In the case of E. alpinum, the main components of the leaf oil were: β-elemenone (10.3%), germacrone (5.8%), two selinadienes (7.1% and 6.7%), and 1,8-cineole (5.3%), which were not found in the oil from shoot culture, whereas the shoot culture oil was dominated by hexadecanoic acid (15.5%), spathulenol (7.5%), (E)-β-farnesene (4.9%), germacra-4(15),5,10(14)-trien-1α-ol (4.7%), and falcarinol (4.3%). The essential oils obtained from E. maritimum fruits and leaves of the intact plants, measured by the broth microdilution method, were the most active against T. mentagophytes and S. aureus. Moreover, the essential oil of leaves had the moderate activity against C. albicans and E. coli. The results showed that the chemical compositions of the essential oils differed decidedly between the two studied species and between the organs. Furthermore, the essential oil of E. maritimum may play an important role as antimicrobial agent.

Highlights

The genus Eryngium L., which belongs to the subfamily Saniculoideae of the Apiaceae family, is represented by 230–250 species widespread in Central Asia, America, and Central and SoutheastEurope [1]
In vitro cultures of these endangered and protected species can be the alternative source of the raw material for phytochemical examination and the biological activity studies
This has been the first report on the content and the composition of the essential oils from Eryngium species growing in Poland—E. maritimum on Polish beaches and E. alpinum in a botanical garden

Summary

Introduction

The genus Eryngium L., which belongs to the subfamily Saniculoideae of the Apiaceae family, is represented by 230–250 species widespread in Central Asia, America, and Central and SoutheastEurope [1]. There are some species such as E. campestre, E. maritimum, E. foetidum, and E. creticum that have been used in the traditional medicines worldwide [2]. The pharmacological activities of Eryngium species depend mainly on the presence of triterpenoid saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, coumarin derivatives, acetylenes, and the essential oils [3,4]. (Sea holly) is a rare perennial under strict law protection in Poland and some. It grows on coastal dunes of the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean basin, and the. The phytochemical investigations of E. maritimum revealed the presence of secondary metabolites—polyhydroxylated oleanene triterpenoid saponins [6,7], phenolic acids, mostly rosmarinic and chlorogenic acids [8,9], flavonoids containing mainly kaempferol, astragalin, isoquercitrin, rutin, Plants 2020, 9, 417; doi:10.3390/plants9040417 www.mdpi.com/journal/plants

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