Olga P. Jovanović

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Centaurium erythraea Rafn (Gentianaceae) From Serbia

Abstract The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Centaurium erythraea Rafn obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Two hundred and thirty two constituents identified accounted for 93.4% of the total oil. The major components of the oil were: neophytadiene isomer III (10.1%), carvacrol (7.9%), p-camphorene (5.6%), hexadecanoic acid (4.9%) and thymol (4.2%). The terpenoid fraction represented more then one half of the oil (14.4% monoterpenoids, 18.7% sesquiterpenoids and 22.4% diterpenoids), while the fatty acids and fatty acid derived compounds made up a third, and the carotenoid derived compounds only ca. 5% of the oil. Erythrocentaurin, 5-formyl-2,3- dihydroisocoumarin, although a minor contributor (0.1%) of the oil, was identified for the first time in an oil sample.

Root Essential Oil of Achillea lingulata Waldst. & Kit. (Asteraceae)

Abstract The volatile constituents of the underground parts of Achillea lingulata Waldst. & Kit. obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. One-hundred-twenty constituents identified accounted for 94.1% of the total oil. The major components of the oil were: neryl tiglate (16.2%), τ-cadinol (12.2%), neryl isovalerate (9.7%) and cubenol (8.9%). The terpenoid fraction represented ca. 90% of the oil (28.8% monoterpenoids, with monoterpene esters making up 27.8%, 60.4% sesquiterpenoids and 0.2% diterpenoids).

Composition of Peucedanum longifolium Waldst. & Kit. essential oil and volatiles obtained by headspace

The present study reports the chemical composition of Peucedanum longifolium essential oil and headspace (HS) volatiles obtained from the fresh aerial parts. The major contributors of the essential oil were β-elemene (24.7%), (E)-β-ocimene (11.7%), cis-linalool oxide (furanoid, 5.7%), (Z)-β-ocimene (5.6%) and α-humulene (5.2%). HS analysis of the above ground plant parts has enabled the identification of thirty-one components, representing 98.7% of the total volatiles. The main constituents were: (E)-β-ocimene (28.5%), (Z)-β-ocimene (11.9%), α-pinene (8.9%), myrcene (8.5%), p-cymene (6.4%), limonene (6.3%), sabinene (6.0%) and α-phellandrene (5.6%). Twenty-six components were in common for both the oil and HS volatiles, which is 77.3% of the oil and 97.1% of the HS sample.

Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Hydrodistilled Essential Oil of Serbian Ajuga chamaepitys (L.) Schreber ssp. chia (Schreber) Arcangeli

Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of the Ajuga chamaepitys (L.) Schreber ssp. chia (Schreber) Arcangeli collected on Vidlic Mountain (Serbia) from two neighboring localities: normal environmental conditions (NEC) and post fire environmental conditions (PFEC) has been studied by GC and GC/MS. Thirty eight compounds were identified in NEC oil and thirty four in PFEC oil accounted 98.3 % and 98.2 % of the total oil, respectively. The major constituents of NEC and PFEC oil were: α-pinene (10.9%, 5.4%), β-pinene (22.0%, 14.8%), germacrene D (16.2%, 26.8%), germacrene B (5.9%, 13.6%) and viridiflorol (6.0%, 5.7%), respectively. The antioxidant properties of both oils were evaluated emploing electron transfer antioxidant assays: Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH and reducing power asaay Fe (III) to Fe(II). Both oil samples had approximately equal and moderate activity in reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II) and Mo(VI) to Mo(V), and weak radical scavenging activity. This is the first report on the content and composition of the essential oil of A. chamaepitys ssp. chia grows in Serbia and also the first report about its antioxidant activity.

Comparison of chemical composition and biological activities of Seseli rigidum fruit essential oils from Serbia

Abstract Plants from genus Seseli, have been widely used in European traditional medicine, exhibiting antibacterial, antifungal, insect repellent, emmenogogue, antiflatulence, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, anti-tumor, antirheumatic activities and protective effect on human lymphocytes DNA. They usually grow on mountain rocky terrains. Part of their habitat on Vidlic Mountain, located in South-east Serbia, was struck with a large wildfire. Seseli rigidum fruit essential oils (from post fire and control areas) compositions were analyzed by GC and GC-MS, identifying monoterpenes α-pinene and sabinene as most abundant. Statistical tests showed a non-significant difference in chemical composition of these two oils, but a significant difference in comparison with the herb from a geographically different origin. Antimicrobial tests showed strong activities of the oils against tested bacteria, thus confirming its administration in various inflammation processes as a quite effective remedy. Applying DPPH. and ABTS+. radical scavenging and total reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II) power assays, antioxidant characteristics of both studied essential oils were estimated as weak, though of close values. Seseli rigidum fruit essential oil was proven as a potent inhibitor of human and horse serum cholinesterase, recognizing its possible application as neural protective agent Graphical Abstract

Dittrichia graveolens (L.) Greuter Essential Oil: Chemical Composition, Multivariate Analysis, and Antimicrobial Activity

The chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activities of Dittrichia graveolens (L.) Greuter essential oil was studied. Moreover, using agglomerative hierarchical cluster (AHC) and principal component analyses (PCA), the interrelationships of the D. graveolens essential‐oil profiles characterized so far (including the sample from this study) were investigated. To evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oil, GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses were performed. Altogether, 54 compounds were identified, accounting for 92.9% of the total oil composition. The D. graveolens oil belongs to the monoterpenoid chemotype, with monoterpenoids comprising 87.4% of the totally identified compounds. The major components were borneol (43.6%) and bornyl acetate (38.3%). Multivariate analysis showed that the compounds borneol and bornyl acetate exerted the greatest influence on the spatial differences in the composition of the reported oils. The antimicrobial activity against five bacterial and one fungal strain was determined using a disk‐diffusion assay. The studied essential oil was active only against Gram‐positive bacteria.

Volatiles of Minuartia recurva (All.) Schinz et Thell. subsp. recurva (Caryophyllaceae) From Serbia

Abstract The essential oil of fresh aerial parts of Minuartia recurva ssp. recurva obtained by hydrodistillation was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. One hundred fifty-one constituents identified accounted for 95.5% of the total oil. The major components of the oil were: nonanal (9.9%), (Z)-3-hexenol (8.5%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (5.3%) and methyl 3-hydroxyoctadecanoate (4.5%). “Green leaf” volatiles constituted the major fraction of the oil (52.9%). Along with methyl 3-hydroxyoctadecanoate, the presence of γ-lactones of palmitic and stearic acids (1.4% and 1.6%, respectively) characterized the oil. These rare plant metabolites have been identified for the first time in the family Caryophyllaceae.

Comparative Study of Fatty Acids Profile in Eleven Wild Mushrooms of Boletacea and Russulaceae Families

Eleven species of wild mushrooms which belong to Boletaceae and Russulaceae families were examined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis for the presence of fatty acids. As far as we know, the fatty acid profiles of B. purpureus and B. rhodoxanthus were described for the first time. Twenty‐six fatty acids were determined. Linoleic (19.5 – 72%), oleic (0.11 – 64%), palmitic (5.9 – 22%) and stearic acids (0.81 – 57%) were present in the highest contents. In all samples, unsaturated fatty acids dominate. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering was used to display the correlation between the fatty acids and their relationships with the mushroom species. Based on the fatty acids profile in the samples, the mushrooms can be divided into two families: Boletaceae and Russulaceae families, using cluster analysis.

Chemical Composition of Ballota macedonica Vandas and Ballota nigra L. ssp. foetida (Vis.) Hayek Essential Oils - The Chemotaxonomic Approach.

The essential oils isolated from fresh aerial parts of Ballota macedonica (two populations) and Ballota nigra ssp. foetida were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Eighty five components were identified in total; 60 components in B. macedonica oil (population from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), 34 components in B. macedonica oil (population from the Republic of Serbia), and 33 components in the oil of B. nigra ssp. foetida accounting for 93.9%, 98.4%, and 95.8% of the total oils, respectively. The most abundant components in B. macedonica oils were carotol (13.7 – 52.1%), germacrene D (8.6 – 24.6%), and (E)‐caryophyllene (6.5 – 16.5%), while B. nigra ssp. foetida oil was dominated by (E)‐phytol (56.9%), germacrene D (10.0%), and (E)‐caryophyllene (4.7%). Multivariate statistical analyses (agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis) were used to compare and discuss relationships among Ballota species examined so far based on their volatile profiles. The chemical compositions of B. macedonica essential oils are reported for the first time.

Constituents of Ramalina capitata (Ach.) Nyl. extracts

Abstract The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of the ether, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts of Ramalina capitata by GC–FID and GC–MS for the first time. The main identified components in the ether, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts were everninic acid (24.7, 33.7 and 22.2%), orcinol (25.8, 16.7 and 11.9%), orcinol monomethyl ether (11.6, 7.6 and 4.8%), 3-methylorsellinic acid (10.2, 7.1 and 9.0%) and usnic acid (4.4, 8.2 and 25.8%), respectively. Considerable amount (10.4%) of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3,5,6-trimethylbenzoic acid was detected in ethyl acetate extract. Additionally, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid and stearic acid and their esters were observed in the dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts in the range of 4.1–0.1%, while their amount was below 0.05% in the ether extract. According to the results reported here R. capitata predominantly biosynthesises derivatives of orcinol and, in much lesser extent, derivatives of β-orcinol.