Chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of Heracleum persicum essential oil

Maryam Gharachorloo,Masoud Honarvar,Shima Mardani

doi:10.1590/s2175-97902017000300260

Maryam Gharachorloo, Masoud Honarvar + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s2175-97902017000300260

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Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study essential oil of the aerial parts of Heracleum persicum a spice widely used in Iran was isolated by conventional hydrodistillation (HD) and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) techniques. The extraction yield was determined and the chemical compositions of essential oils were identified by the application of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The antioxidant activity was determined by two different methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and oven test methods. Although the main compounds of essential oils by the both extraction methods were similar, the essential oil extracted by HD with lower extraction efficiency showed more diverse compounds. The evaluation of antioxidant activity of the essential oil measured by delay in sunflower oil oxidation indicated that the antioxidant activity was dependent on the concentration which increased when higher concentrations of the essential oils were applied. The results of DPPH radical assay also indicated that the percentage of inhibition increased with increasing of essential oil concentration and IC50 value for essential oil extracted by MAHD method was obtained 1.25 mg/mL. Therefore the Heracleum persicum essential oil might be recommended for use as a flavoring agent and a source of natural antioxidants in functional foods, formulation of the supplements and in medicinal due to numerous pharmacological activities.

Highlights

Heracleum persicum is a flowering plant and native to Iran that commonly known as “Golpar”
The aim of this research was the comparison of the chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of Heracleum persicum essential oil extracted by conventional hydrodistillation (HD) and microwaveassisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) techniques
Isolation of essential oil Hydrodistillation Powder of aerial parts of Heracleum persicum were hydrodistillated for 3 h using a Clevenger-type apparatus according to the standard procedure

Summary

Introduction

Heracleum persicum is a flowering plant and native to Iran that commonly known as “Golpar”. It belongs to Apiaceae family in the order of Apiales that contains about 300 genera and more than 3000 species. Heracleum species probably originates from the Middle East, somewhere south of Caucasian, but has spread as an ornamental plant up to Northern Europe. Heracleum genus has 10 species in Iran (Asgarpanah et al, 2012). The ripe fruits, leaves and young stems of Heracleum persicum are used as antiseptic, carminative, digestive and analgesia as well as flavoring in the Iranian folk medicine (Torbati et al, 2014). It has recently been shown to have antioxidant, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory and immunemodulatory activities (Asgarpanah et al, 2012)

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