Biological activity and safety profile of the essential oil from fruits of Heracleum mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier (Apiaceae)

Abstract A composition of essential oils obtained from Heracleum mantegazzianum (Apiaceae) was examined using a GC-MS method. n -Octyl acetate (19.92%), n -hexyl-2-methylbutanoate (10.84%), n -octanol (10.13%), n -octyl butanoate (8.88%), n -octyl-2-methylbutanoate (8.01%), n -hexyl acetate (7.11%), n -octyl isobutanoate (5.5%) and n -hexyl isobutanoate (5.43%) were the main compounds. The high-performance counter-current chromatography was applied for purification of aliphatic alcohols and esters. A mixture of n -hexane, acetonitrile and tetr -butyl methyl ether (1:1:0.1, v/v) allowed to obtain n -octanol, n -octyl acetate, n -hexyl-2- methylbutanoate, n -octyl isobutanoate and n -octyl-2-methylbutanoate, with the purity range of 94–99%, in one single 74 min run. The antimicrobial activity was also determined against plant and foodborne pathogens. While n -octanol shares responsibility for the antibacterial activity of the essential oil, n -octyl acetate determines its antifungal action. The cytotoxic activity assessed on two normal kidney fibroblast cell lines: Vero (animal) and HEK-293 (human embryonic), and two human cancer cell lines: FaDu (squamous cell carcinoma of the pharynx) and SCC25 (squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue), showed a moderate cytotoxicity with CC 50 values ranging from 262.3 to 567.8 μg/mL. Results indicate that normal cell lines were more sensitive to the tested essential oil than cancer cell lines. The antioxidant activity of oil and pure compounds was not significant.