Essential Oil Composition of Some Wild Populations of Heracleum persicum Desf. Ex Fischer Growing in Iran

Abstract

Heracleum persicum Desf. Ex Fischer (Apiaceae) popularly named Golpar, is an important native medicinal plant species in Iran. Its fruits are widely used as a spice and flavoring agent in foods as well as carminative, antiseptic, digestive and analgesic herbal drug in Iranian traditional medicine. The essential oils of flat-oval shaped fruits of 17 wild populations of H. persicum collected from different locations were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The oil yields varied greatly among populations and ranged from 1.6 % to 4.9 % based on dried plant material. Thirty-six compounds, which accounted for 89.7- 99.5 % of the total oil, were identified in the essential oils. Octyl acetate (7.5-40.8 %), hexyl butyrate (13.3-43.8 %), hexyl isobutyrate (2.9-7.2 %) and hexyl 2-methyl butyrate (4.8-11.9 %) were the major components. Aliphatic esters were the most abundant class of compounds identified in the essential oils and of them, both octyl acetate and hexyl butyrate were the characteristic constituents of fruit essential oils. According to the variations in percentages of octyl acetate and hexyl butyrate, which were more frequent in total essential oils, populations were subdivided into three groups. Although results indicated a significant variation within species depending on the environmental factors in the essential oil content, but no considerable chemical variation was detected in the oil composition of H. persicum populations from different natural regions. Since medicinal effects of essential oils could be mostly attributed to the presence of the major constituents, wild Iranian H. persicum populations with high essential oil contents and also with oils rich in octyl acetate and hexyl butyrate may be valuable for medicinal and commercial purposes.