Chemical composition of the essential oils of Levisticum officinale growing wild in Iran

Abstract

The genus Levisticum, belonging to the Umbelliferae family, is represented in the flora of Iran by only one species, Levisticum officinale Koch. (Lovage) [1,2]. This plant has been cultivated in European countries for a long time and the essential oil composition studied as well [3,4]. All parts of the plant exhibit a strong flavor generally characteristic of celery. The root extract has a warm-spicy note, but the seeds and leaf flavor are more diffusive and penetrating [5]. The essential oil from the roots, leaves, and seeds of L. officinale are used in the food, beverage, perfumery, and tobacco industries. The root of the plant has also been known for centuries as a traditional medicine possessing spasmolytic, diuretic, and carminative activities [5][6][7][8][9]. Many methods have been used for the isolation of volatiles from the different parts of L. officinale. The variation of oil composition depends on the isolation method, the parts of the plant, harvesting, and geographical location [10][11][12].It is noteworthy that our previous study was carried out regarding the water-distilled essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of L. officinale growing wild in Iran. Results showed that the major components were D-terpinyl acetate (40.5%) and E-phellandrene (16.7%) [13].In this work, hydrodistilled essential oils from crushed dry leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of L. officinale Koch. from Hezar Mountains, Kerman Province (Iran) were separately studied by GC and GC/MS. A voucher specimen (No. 93801) has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (TARI), Tehran, Iran. The air-dried leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of the plant yielded 3.2%, 2.9%, 3.8%, and 3.4% (w/w) of a light yellowish colored oil, respectively.GC analysis of the volatile components was carried out using a Hewlett-Packard 6890 instrument coupled to a flame ionization detector (FID). Compounds were separated on a HP-5 capillary column (5% phenylmethylpolysiloxane, 30 m u 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 Pm). The column temperature was kept at 60qC for 5 min and programmed to 220qC at a rate of 7qC/min. Injector and detector temperatures were 270qC, and the flow rate of helium as carrier gas was 1 mL/min. GC/MS analysis was performed using a Hewlett-Packard 5973 mass spectrometer coupled to a Hewlett-Packard 6890 gas chromatograph equipped with a HP-5MS capillary column (5% phenylmethylpolysiloxane, 30 m u 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 Pm). The carrier gas was helium and the chromatographic conditions were as above. MS were taken at 70 eV.All constituents of the oils, which were identified on the basis of their mass spectral characteristics and retention indices [14], are listed in Table 1. As is shown, 19 and 15 components (95.34% and 97.35%) were identified in the leaf and seed oils. The major components were J-terpinene (14.52% and 12.37%), E-phellandrene (13.85% and 15.54%), (Z)-E-ocimene (12.91% and 23.70%), and D-terpinyl acetate (8.68% and 10.68%). In the stem oil, 20 compounds (90.72%) were identified,...

Chemical and bioactive characterization of the aromatic plant Levisticum officinale W.D.J. Koch: a comprehensive study

“…Other studies reported different major compounds, namely pentyl cyclohexa-1,3-diene (28.1%) 9 and γ-terpinene (14.5%). 25 Additionally, in the sample grown in Portugal, the second most abundant compound was found to be p-cymene (20.5%), which has not been identified or has been reported in minor amounts (ranging from 0.1% to 4.3%) in the previous studies. In the present work, different phthalides were detected, with the most abundant being (Z)-ligustilide (22.2%).…”

“…α-Terpinyl acetate was found to be the major compound (33.6%), followed by p-cymene (20.5%), (Z)-ligustilide (22.2%), β-phellandrene (4.7%) and myrcene (4.2%). When comparing the obtained composition, in terms of most abundant compounds, with data previously published for the volatile composition of L. officinale grown in Iran, 9,24,25 Moldavia, 26 Lithuania, 27 and Estonia, 28 in general, the chemical profile of the Portuguese grown sample was considerably different. Despite the similarity to other oils that also presented α-terpinyl acetate as the major compound, a higher content has been previously reported in the aerial parts (52.4%), 24 leaves (55.8% and 49.7% to 70%), 27,28 and stems (49.1% to 69.0%) 27 of lovage.…”

Hydroalcoholic Extract of Levisticum officinale Increases cGMP Signaling Pathway by Down-Regulating PDE5 Expression and Induction of Apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 Breast Cancer Cell Lines

“…According to previous investigations, lovage is used to treat sore throats, fever, kidney stones, urethritis, congestion, rheumatism, migraine headache, and indigestion and also applied as a wound antiseptic. Lovage has also used as an appetizer, and a potent diuretic [28][29][30] and has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumoral and anti-bacterial properties [28,[31][32][33] . Experiments have revealed that hydroalcoholic extract of lovage (LOHE) has anticancer effects by induction of apoptosis in several cancer cell lines [32,34,35] , based on the fact that plants containing flavonoids can cause PDE inhibition.…”

Processing of Lovage into High‐Value Components Using Supercritical CO2 and Pressurized Liquid Extraction

“…is a perennial herbaceous plant, well‐known for its therapeutic and flavoring properties 1–3, which are determined by the presence of biologically active and aroma substances such as volatile oil, coumarins, gums, and resins. The pharmacologically important phthalide, namely ligustilide, was reported as the major volatile constituent of lovage roots 4, 5. Other compounds, such as the terpenes α ‐terpinyl acetate and β ‐phellandrene, were found in large quantities in lovage leaves 6, 7.…”

“…The lipophilic fraction is traditionally isolated from lovage by distillation (volatile compounds) or solvent extraction, which also includes nonvolatile substances. The content of hydrodistilled essential oil from lovage was reported in a very wide range: 0.05–3.4 % (roots) 4, 5, 7–9 and 0.09–3.2 % (leaves) 4, 5, 9–12, while Soxhlet extraction yielded 0.24–2.4 % of oily fraction 3, 7, 13. Thus, maximal recovery of valuable lovage fractions requires careful selection of extraction method and parameters.…”