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Chinese Angelica is a significant medical plant due to the various therapeutic constituents in its root; whereas the aerial part is considered worthless and often discarded as agricultural waste. In this work, phytochemicals from the stem were first systematically analyzed by means of GC⁻MS after derivatization and HPLC⁻MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Phthalides, ferulic acid, and coniferyl ferulate were detected in the stem; although their content is relatively low in comparison with the root. Some specific compounds, such as p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, 4-hydroxyphenyl-1, 2-ethanediol, thymol- β -d-glucopyranoside, etc. and a significant amount of phytosterols (1.36 mg/g stem, mainly β-sitosterol) were detected in the stem. The extracted oil from the stem contained a considerable amount of phthalides (48.5 mg/g), β -sitosterol (56.21 mg/g), and stigmasterol (14.03 mg/g); no other bioactive compounds were found that could be potentially used as pharmaceuticals or additives to healthcare food.

The current study focuses on the analysis of in vitro biological activity of extract from bark of Norway spruce (Picea Abies), which can find potential application in food and cosmetic industry and pharmacology. Milled bark was subjected to Soxhlet extraction and supercritical fluid extraction to obtain two ethanol extracts. These extracts were further used to obtain their pre-extracts to n-hexane. It was investigated whether beta-sitosterol exhibits bacteriostatic activity necessary to observe antimicrobial and antifungal activity of methyl dehydroabiatate. This synergic effect and bacteriostatic activity of beta-sitosterol have not been previously reported. The greatest inhibition zone of n-hexane pre-extracts was confirmed in bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa (0,9 - 1,5 cm) and yeast Alternaria alternata (0,7 - 1,6 cm). It is novel, the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activity of spruce bark extracts assessed in terms of food and cosmetic fortification., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)