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Carpesium cernuum L., one of the two Carpesium species occurring in Europe, in the Far East and India, found use as a vegetable and a traditional medicinal remedy for several ailments. In the present study, compositions of essential oils distilled from roots and shoots of C. cernuum plants, cultivated in the open field, have been studied by GC-MS-FID supported by NMR spectroscopy. The analyses led to the identification of 120 compounds in total, of which 115 were found in aerial parts and 37 in roots of the plants. The major constituents found in the oil from shoots were: α-pinene (35%) and 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether, 12%), whereas 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (55%), thymyl isobutyrate (9%) and thymol methyl ether (8%) predominated in the essential oil obtained from the roots. Antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the essential oils distilled from C. cernuum were also tested. The essential oil from aerial parts of the plant demonstrated good inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 (MIC: 15.6 μL/mL).

The essential oils (EOs) were isolated by hydrodistillation from wild and cultivated Pistacia lentiscus L. var. chia&mdash, mastic gum tree (Anacardiaceae) from two natural habitats, namely from Cesme&ndash, Uzunkoy (1) and Mordogan (2), and one cultivated source, Cesme&ndash, Germiyan (3), in Izmir, Turkey. This comparative study evaluated the chemical composition and biological activity of mastic gum essential oils (MGEOs). For this purpose, MGEOs 1&ndash, 3 were analyzed by gas chromatography&ndash, flame ionization detection (GC-FID), gas chromatography&ndash, mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and chiral GC for &alpha, pinene. Laboratory assays were conducted to assess for potential in vitro cytotoxicity (multiple in vitro cancer cell lines), antimicrobial properties (five bacterial species and yeast), anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase, iNOS), and the attraction of Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean fruit fly, medfly), respectively. Chemical analysis indicated that MGEOs 1 and 2 were rich in &alpha, pinene (56.2% and 51.9%), myrcene (20.1% and 18.6%), and &beta, pinene (2.7% and 3.1%), respectively, whereas MGEO-3 was characterized by a high level of &alpha, pinene (70.8%), followed by &beta, pinene (5.7%) and myrcene (2.5%). Chiral GC analyses showed that concentration ratios between (&minus, )/(+)-&alpha, pinene and (&minus, )-&alpha, pinene/myrcene allowed for differentiation between wild and cultivated MGEO sources. In biological assays, MGEOs 1&ndash, 3 did not exhibit significant antimicrobial effects against the pathogens evaluated and were not strong attractants of male medflies, however, all three MGEOs displayed a dose-dependent inhibition of iNOS, and MGEOs 1 and 2 exhibited selective in vitro cytotoxicity against human cancer cells. These results suggest that wild-type mastic gum oils from Cesme and Mordogan (MGEOs 1 and 2) are potential sources of beneficial products and warrant further investigation.

Chamisso arnica (Arnica chamissonis Less.) is a valuable plant species used in the pharmaceutical industry due to the content of many pharmacologically active substances and the similarity of its chemical composition to that of Arnica montana&mdash, a medicinal plant commonly used in pharmacy and cosmetics. The similarity of the two plant species implies that chamisso arnica can be a pharmaceutical substitute for the mountain arnica, i.e., an endangered and endemic plant species in Europe. Chamisso arnica extracts exhibit anti-inflammatory and antiradical activity and possesses high antioxidant properties that might be helpful in preventing or delaying the progress of free radical dependent diseases. The attributes of A. chamissonis are mainly related to the content and chemical composition of essential oil. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of essential oil derived from A. chamissonis flower heads under a nitrogen impact. The experiment was performed on experimental fields in mid-eastern Poland on two soil types (sandy and loamy soils). The nitrogen fertilizer was applied as ammonium sulfate (control, 30, 60, 90, and 120 kg N ha&minus, 1). Collection of flower heads was carried out in the full flowering phase, which was characterized by the highest content of essential oil. The chemical composition of essential oil was examined using GC-MS. Among the 75 ingredients of the volatile oil of chamisso arnica flower heads, alpha-pinene, cumene, p-cymene, germacrene D, spathulenol, decanal, caryophyllene oxide, beta-pinene, and benzene acetaldehyde were present at relatively high levels. Both the nitrogen application and the soil type had an effect on the oil concentration and the yield of the main constituents (alpha-pinene and germacrene D) with pharmacological value. Different levels of nitrogen application could be considered as a relevant way to modify the chemical composition and to increase the essential oil production.

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is historically one of the most important spices and herbal medicines, and is now cultivated in tropical regions worldwide. The essential oil of black pepper fruits has shown a myriad of biological activities and is a commercially important commodity. In this work, five black pepper essential oils from eastern coastal region of Madagascar and six black pepper essential oils from the Amazon region of Brazil were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major components of the essential oils were &alpha, pinene, sabinene, &beta, pinene, &delta, 3-carene, limonene, and &beta, caryophyllene. A comparison of the Madagascar and Brazilian essential oils with black pepper essential oils from various geographical regions reported in the literature was carried out. A hierarchical cluster analysis using the data obtained in this study and those reported in the literature revealed four clearly defined clusters based on the relative concentrations of the major components.

The chemical composition and biological activity of essential oils isolated from the leaves of Siparuna aspera, Siparuna macrotepala, Piper leticianum, Piper augustum and the rhizome of Hedychium coronarium were evaluated. These species are used medicinally in different ways by the Amazonian communities that live near the Kutuk&uacute, mountain range. Chemical studies revealed that the main components for the two Siparuna species were germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, &alpha, pinene, &delta, cadinene, &delta, elemene, &alpha, copaene and &beta, caryophyllene, for the two Piper species &beta, caryophyllene, germacrene D, &alpha, (E,E)-farnesene, &beta, elemene, bicyclogermacrene, &delta, cadinene and for H. coronarium 1,8-cineole, &beta, pinene, &alpha, pinene and &alpha, terpineol. The antioxidant activity of all essential oils was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2&prime, azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), photochemiluminescence (PCL) quantitative assays, and DPPH and ABTS bioautographic profiles, with different results for each of them. Antimicrobial activity studies were carried out on three yeasts, six Gram positive and four Gram negative bacteria, by means of the disc diffusion method. The essential oil of H. coronarium showed the most relevant results on L. grayi, K. oxytoca and S. mutans, P. augustum and P. leticianum on S. mutans. An antibacterial bioautographic test for H. coronarium was also carried out and highlighted the potential activity of terpinen-4-ol and 1,8-cineole.

Essential oils (EOs) were obtained by hydrodistillation of various parts of Ferula ovina (Boiss.) Boiss., Ferula iliensis Krasn. ex. Korovin, and Ferula akitschkensis B. Fedtsch. ex Koso-Pol., collected in the flowering/budding and fruiting stages. Eight samples of EOs isolated from F. ovina and four samples from F. akitsckensis were analyzed by gas chromatography&ndash, mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major constituents of F. ovina EOs were &alpha, pinene (6.9&ndash, 47.8%), &beta, pinene (1.5&ndash, 7.1%), sabinene (0.1&ndash, 20.5%), &beta, phellandrene (0&ndash, 6.5%), trans-verbenol (0.9&ndash, 7.4%), eremophilene (3.1&ndash, 12%), and 6Z-2,5,5,10-tetramethyl-undeca-2,6,9-trien-8-one (0&ndash, 13.7%). The major constituents of F. akitsckensis EOs were &alpha, pinene (0&ndash, 46.2%), &beta, 47.9%), sabinene (0&ndash, 28.3%), eremophilene (0&ndash, 10.6), &beta, caryophyllene (0&ndash, 7.5%), himachalen-7-ol (0&ndash, 28.2%), and an himachalol derivative (0&ndash, 8.3%). Samples of EOs from F. ovina, F. iliensis, and F. akitsckensis were evaluated for antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pulse-field gel electrophoresis type USA300 (LAC). EOs from F. ovina exhibited the highest antibacterial activity compared to samples from other Ferula spp., with the most potent EOs being isolated from roots at the flowering and fruiting stages and stems at the fruiting stage (IC50 values of 19.1, 20.9, and 22.9 &micro, g/mL, respectively). Although EOs demonstrated concentration-dependent inhibition of MRSA growth, analysis of the major constituents (&alpha, pinene, &beta, pinene, and sabinene) showed that they had low activity, suggesting that other components were likely responsible for the observed bioactivity of the unfractionated EOs. Indeed, correlation of the GC-MS data with antibacterial activity suggested that the putative components responsible for antibacterial activity were, either individually or in combination, eremophilene and trans-verbenol. Overall, these results suggest that the EOs from F. ovina could have potential for use as alternative remedies for the treatment of infectious diseases caused by MRSA.

Carpesium divaricatum Sieb. and Zucc. has long been used both as traditional medicine and seasonal food. The most extensively studied specialized metabolites synthesized by the plant are sesquiterpene lactones of germacrane-type. Low-molecular and volatile terpenoids produced by C. divaricatum, however, have never been explored. In this work, compositions of essential oils distilled from roots and shoots of C. divaricatum plants, cultivated either in the open field or in the glasshouse have been studied by GC-MS-FID supported by NMR spectroscopy. The analyses led to the identification of 145 compounds in all, 112 of which were localized in aerial parts and 80 in roots of the plants grown in the open field. Moreover, remarkable differences in composition of oils produced by aerial and underground parts of C. divaricatum have been observed. The major volatiles found in the shoots were: α-pinene (40%), nerol (4%) and neryl-isobutyrate (3%), whereas predominant components of the root oil were 10-isobutyryloxy-8,9-epoxythymyl-isobutyrate (29%), thymyl-isobutyrate (6%) and 9-isobutyryloxythymyl-isobutyrate (6%). In the analyzed oils, seventeen thymol derivatives were identified. Among them eight compounds were specific for roots. Roots of the plants cultivated in the glasshouse were, in general, a poor source of essential oil in comparison with those of the plants grown in the open field. Chemophenetic relationships with other taxa of the Inuleae-Inulineae were also briefly discussed.

The aim of this study was to establish the kinetics regression models for yield and composition of Ruta graveolens fruit and Hyssopus officinalis subsp. aristatus aboveground biomass essential oil (EO), collected at different time intervals during the hydrodistillation process. The hypothesis was that collecting the EO fractions during specific time frames may result in EOs with dissimilar composition that may have differential use by the industry. Furthermore, we calculated the kinetics regression models for the composition of EO, isolated by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus and characterized by GC-MS and GC-FID analyses. The EO yield of R. graveolens fruits was 0.39% (relative area % of GC-FID chromatogram), with major constituents in the Control fraction (0&ndash, 90 min) being 2-nonanone, 2-undecanone, and 2-undecanol, representing 65% of the total oil. The highest concentration of 2-nonanone (60%) was found in the 30&ndash, 60 min oil fraction, the concentration of 2-undecanone (35%) was highest in the Control (0&ndash, 90 min) fraction, and the concentration of eucalyptol (19%) was highest in the 5&ndash, 10 min fraction. The EO yield of H. officinalis subsp. aristatus dried biomass was 1.12%. The major constituents in the Control fraction (0&ndash, 90 min) of H. officinalis biomass were eucalyptol, &alpha, pinene, sabinene, &beta, pinene, and cis-3-pinanone, representing 86% of the total. Eucalyptol (58%) was the highest in the 0&ndash, 5 min fraction. The highest &beta, pinene (15%) and cis-3-pinanone (20%) contents were found in the 20&ndash, 40 min fraction. The kinetics regression models that were developed for EO composition of R. graveolens were second-order polynominal, Michaelis&ndash, Menten, and Exponential decay, while for EO composition of H. officinalis subsp. aristatus biomass were Exponential decay and Power. The results from this study could benefit the EO industry.

The chemical profile and antioxidant capacity of Juniperus virginiana, J. excelsa, and J. sabina essential oil (EO) fractions as a function of time was the subject of this study. The hypothesis was that, capturing EO in sequential timeframes during hydrodistillation would generate fractions containing unique compositions and antioxidant capacity. In J. virginiana, the highest limonene (43%) was found in the 0&ndash, 5 min oil fraction, with safrole (37%) being highest in the 10&ndash, 20 and 20&ndash, 40 min fractions, and elemol (34%) being highest in the 160&ndash, 240 min fraction. In J. excelsa, &alpha, pinene (34-36%) was the highest in the 0&ndash, 5 min fraction and in the control (non-stop 0&ndash, 240 min distillation) oil, limonene (39%) was the highest in the 0&ndash, 10 min fractions and cedrol (50-53%) was the highest in the 40&ndash, 240 min fractions. In J. sabina, sabinene (80%) was highest in the 0&ndash, 3 min fraction. The highest antioxidant capacity of J. virginiana was demonstrated by the 5&ndash, 10 min fraction, the one in J. sabina by the 3&ndash, and, the one in J. excelsa, by the control. The kinetics regression models that were developed can predict EO composition of the three juniper species eluted at different timeframes. Various industries could benefit from the results from this study.

During our screening program for agrochemicals from Chinese medicinal herbs and wild plants, the essential oil of Carum carvi fruits was found to possess strong contact toxicity against Sitophilus zeamais and Tribolium castaneum adults, with LD50 values of 3.07 and 3.29 mg/adult, respectively, and also showed strong fumigant toxicity against the two grain storage insects with LC50 values of 3.37 and 2.53 mg/L, respectively. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation was investigated by GC and GC-MS. The main components of the essential oil were identified to be (R)-carvone (37.98%) and D-limonene (26.55%) followed by α-pinene (5.21), cis-carveol (5.01%) and b-myrcene (4.67%). (R)-Carvone and D-limonene were separated and purified by silica gel column chromatography and preparative thin layer chromatography, and further identified by means of physicochemical and spectrometric analysis. (R)-Carvone and D-limonene showed strong contact toxicity against S. zeamais (LD50 = 2.79 and 29.86 mg/adult) and T. castaneum (LD50 = 2.64 and 20.14 mg/adult). (R)-Carvone and D-limonene also possessed strong fumigant toxicity against S. zeamais (LC50 = 2.76 and 48.18 mg/L) and T. castaneum adults (LC50 = 1.96 and 19.10 mg/L).

Despite abundant published research on the volatile characterization of mango germplasm, the aroma differentiation of Chinese cultivars remains unclear. Using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography&ndash, mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the composition and relative content of volatiles in 37 cultivars representing the diversity of Chinese mango germplasm were investigated. Results indicated that there are distinct differences in the components and content of volatile compounds among and within cultivars. In total, 114 volatile compounds, including 23 monoterpenes, 16 sesquiterpenes, 29 non-terpene hydrocarbons, 25 esters, 11 aldehydes, five alcohols and five ketones, were identified. The total volatile content among cultivars ranged from 211 to 26,022 &mu, g/kg fresh weight (FW), with 123-fold variation. Terpene compounds were the basic background volatiles, and 34 cultivars exhibited abundant monoterpenes. On the basis of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), terpinolene and &alpha, pinene were important components constituting the aroma of Chinese mango cultivars. Most obviously, a number of mango cultivars with high content of various aroma components were observed, and they can serve as potential germplasms for both breeding and direct use.

The chemical composition of the essential oil of Portuguese myrtle was determined at different developmental stages of the plant: pre-flowering, flowering, unripe and ripe berries. The oil was extracted separately by Clevenger distillation from leaves, branches and berries. The yields vary from 0.33% to 0.74% for leaves, 0.02% to 0.19% for branches, and 0.11% to 0.23% for berries. The highest yields were obtained for the leaves in October, and for the berries in September; branches show similar values in the months of June, July and September, and the samples collected in May and October produced very little amount of oil. Altogether, September seems to be the month with the best yields for the three parts of the plant. The essential oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS, and a total of thirty five components were identified. The major components were limonene+1,8-cineole [25.9% (berries)-39.5% (leaves)], myrtenyl acetate [6.6% (berries)-24.8% (leaves)], alpha-pinene [9.7% (berries)-21.5% (leaves)], and linalool [6.2% (leaves)-36.5% (berries)]. Portuguese myrtle belongs to the group of myrtles which are characterized by the presence of myrtenyl acetate as one of the major components.

The chemical composition and the antibacterial activity of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Callistemon citrinus and Callistemon viminalis were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-four and twelve components were identified for C. citrinus and C. viminalis, representing 92.0% and 98.3% of the total oils. The major components of C. citrinus and C. viminalis were 1,8-cineole (61.2% and 83.2%) and alpha-pinene (13.4% and 6.4%), respectively. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the essential oils was studied against 12 bacteria strains using disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The oils exhibited strong zone of inhibitions against some bacteria such as S. faecalis (20.3-24.0 mm), both strains of S. aureus (23.0-26.3 mm), B. cereus (17.3-19.0 mm) and S. macrcesens (11.3-23.7 mm) when compared to standard antibiotics gentamycin and tetracycline used as controls. Expect for P. aeruginosa and S. macrcescens, the MIC values of both essential oils ranged from 0.31-2.50 mg/mL.

The essential oils of the flowers, leaves and stems of Senecio polyanthemoides Sch. Bip. Samples collected from two different localities within the city of uMhlathuze, KwaZulu-Natal Province (South Africa) were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed using GC and GC/MS. Twenty-six constituents were identified, representing an average of 86.0 - 99.6% of the total oil composition. The chemical profile reveals the dominance of monoterpenoid compounds, although some quantitative variance was noticed. The main constituents of the oils were limonene (3.1 - 43.0%), p-cymene (4.9-36.3%), beta-selinene (1.3-32.7%), alpha-pinene (1.8-21.4%), beta-pinene (7.6-16.5%) and 1,8-cineole (9.3-11.4%), caryophyllene oxide (4.1-13.4%) and humulene epoxide II (8.6-10.3%).

Studies examining the use of essential oils as replacements for synthetic insecticides require an understanding of the contribution of each constituent present, interactions among these components, and how they relate to overall toxicity. In the present study, the chemical composition of commercial thyme oil was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Thyme oil and blends of its major constituents were tested for their acaricidal activitities against carmine spider mites (Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval)) using a slide-dip bioassay. Natural thyme oil showed greater toxicity than any single constituent or blend of constituents. Thymol was the most abundant component (34.4%), and also possessed the strongest acaricidal activity compared with other single constituents. When tested individually, four constituents (linalool, terpinene, p-cymene and carvacrol) also had activity, while α-pinene, benzoic acid and ethyl gallate had almost no activity. The toxicity of blends of selected constituents indicated a synergistic effect among the putatively active and inactive constituents, with the presence of all constituents necessary to reach the highest toxicity. The results indicated that thyme oil and some of its major constituents have the potential to be developed into botanical acaricides.