The role of mass spectrometry in medicinal plant research

Abstract

In phytochemical and chemotaxonomic research work mass spectrometry plays an outstandingly important role. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) we established the chemotaxa of Tanacetum vulgare L. Chemotypes with essential oils containing 60-90% of artemisia ketone, carveol, dihydrocarvone, myrtenol, umbellulone, terpinen-4-ol, davanone, and Tagetes species containing various essential oils can be clearly distinguished by their spectra; we examined many variations of Tagetes erecta, T. lucida, T. minuta, T. patula and T. tenuifolia. We have identified alpha-beta-pinene-, 1,8-cineol-, linalool-, camphor-, nerol-, geraniol- and gamma-gurjonene as components of Achillea distans L. Injecting the essential oil direct from the oil-secreting organs of T. minuta plants we identified using GC/MS 6-10 and 16% eugenol from the involucral bract and hypsophyll, respectively, as well as beta-ocimene, dihydrotagetone, tagetone, Z- and E-ocimenones. In the course of studies on essential fatty acids Borago officinalis and Lappula squarrosa were selected from 70 species of the family Boraginaceae to obtain seed oil as a source of gamma-linolenic acid, and for the PG synthesis we isolated several grams of gamma-linolenic acid, as well as C18:4, i.e. octadecatetraenic acid, from L. squarrosa on the basis of the mass spectra. From the seed oil of Aquilegia vulgaris C18:3 (5) from the oil of Limnanthes dougloasii C20:1 (5) and from the seed oils of Delphinium consolida and of Tropaeolum species (T. majus, T. minus, T. peregrinum) C20:1 (11) fatty acids were identified on the basis of spectra.

Natural product HTP screening for antibacterial (E.coli 0157:H7) and anti-inflammatory agents in (LPS from E. coli O111:B4) activated macrophages and microglial cells; focus on sepsis

“…Tansy is also rich in flavonoid glycosides, 7-O-glucosides of apigenin, luteolin, scutellarein and 6- hydroxyluteolin, chrysoeriol and eriodictyol as well as aglycones, hispidulin, nepetin, eupatilin, jaceosidin, pectolinarigenin and axillarin [81]. The oil contains 1,8-cineole and β-thujone as a major constituent along with carveol, umbellulone, davanone, dihydrocarvone, chrysanthenol, borneol and myrtenol [82–85]. …”

Tagetes spp. Essential Oils and Other Extracts: Chemical Characterization and Biological Activity

“…An earlier paper [ 101 ], examining two EOs from aerial parts, registered the following main components: ( Z )-ocimenone (9.1–26.3%), ( E )-ocimenone (9.6–26.3%), dihydrotagetone (13.4–17.3%), tagetones (5.5–12.9%), limonene (8.7–10.2%), and β-ocimene (tr–6.0%). Of particular interest was the presence in one EO of significant quantities of thujone (11.9%).…”

Antibacterial activity of Tagetes minuta L. (Asteraceae) essential oil with different chemical composition

“…[6][7][8][9][10] GC/ MS analysis of T. minuta oils indicates that plant organ, stage of growth, latitude and methods of extraction all affect the composition of oil. [11][12][13][14][15] The effect of drought stress on the yield and composition of volatile oils of clones of commercially available T. minuta grown in a greenhouse in the UK 16 has also been reported. In the present paper the composition and the antibacterial activity of the essential oil from T. minuta grown in Europe and Africa is reported.…”