Edible wild plant Heracleum pyrenaicum subsp. orsinii as a potential new source of bioactive essential oils

Heracleum sphondylium L. subsp. sphondylium (Apiaceae) of the Isle of Skye (Scotland): the chemical composition of essential oil from the flowering aerial parts

Heracleum is a large genus of plants belonging to Apiaceae family that includes about 90 species of biennial or perennial herbs. Several species of this genus are extensively used in various traditional medicines and, despite their content in toxic furanocoumarins, also as food. In the present study the chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) from flowering aerial parts of Heracleum sphondylium L. subsp. sphondylium, a plant distributed in Europe and North-West Africa, collected in the Isle of Skye (Scotland), was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. No one report has been previously published on any British accession. The result showed the presence of large quantity of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and aliphatic esters, with bicyclogermacrene (31.6%) and octyl acetate (29.5%), by far, as the most abundant components. Considerations with respect all the other EOs of H. sphondylium taxa, studied so far, were carried out.

A Systematic Review on the Antimicrobial Properties of Mediterranean Wild Edible Plants: We Still Know Too Little about Them, but What We Do Know Makes Persistent Investigation Worthwhile

(1) Introduction: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is estimated to be the cause of a major number of deaths by 2050 if we do not find strategies to slow down the rise of drug resistance. Reviews on Mediterranean wild edible plants (MWEPs) with antimicrobial properties are scarce in the main databases (PubMed, Scopus, and WoS). Hence, we proceeded to conduct a new review of the studies on MWEPs. (2) Methods: We used ‘wild edible plant’ and ‘antimicrobial’ as keywords. Within this group, exclusion criteria were reviews, studies concerning non-Mediterranean plants or non-edible plants, studies on topics other than plants or containing no description of antimicrobial properties, or off-topic studies. (3) Results: Finally, out of the one hundred and ninety-two studies we had started with, we reviewed thirty-eight (19.8%) studies concerning the antimicrobial properties of seventy-four MWEPs species belonging to twenty-five Families. Fifty-seven (77%) species out of seventy-four proved to be antimicrobial, with a stringent threshold selection. (4) Conclusions: Studies are still very heterogeneous. We still know too little about MWEPs’ properties; however, what we already know strongly recommends carrying on investigation.

Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Immunomodulatory Properties of Essential Oils: A Systematic Review

Essential oils (EOs) are a mixture of natural, volatile, and aromatic compounds obtained from plants. In recent years, several studies have shown that some of their benefits can be attributed to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and also immunomodulatory properties. Therefore, EOs have been proposed as a natural alternative to antibiotics or for use in combination with antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacteria in animal feed and food preservation. Most of the results come from in vitro and in vivo studies; however, very little is known about their use in clinical studies. A systematic and comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase®, and Scopus from December 2014 to April 2019 using different combinations of the following keywords: essential oils, volatile oils, antimicrobial, antioxidant, immunomodulation, and microbiota. Some EOs have demonstrated their efficacy against several foodborne pathogens in vitro and model food systems; namely, the inhibition of S. aureus, V. cholerae, and C. albicans has been observed. EOs have shown remarkable antioxidant activities when used at a dose range of 0.01 to 10 mg/mL in cell models, which can be attributed to their richness in phenolic compounds. Moreover, selected EOs exhibit immunomodulatory activities that have been mainly attributed to their ability to modify the secretion of cytokines.

Chemosystematic Significance of Essential Oil Constituents and Furanocoumarins of Underground Parts and Fruits of Nine Heracleum L. Taxa from Southeastern Europe

The composition of the essential oils and the furanocoumarin profiles of CH₂ Cl₂ extracts from underground parts and fruits of nine Heracleum taxa (Apiaceae) from Southeastern Europe were statistically analyzed to evaluate their chemosystematic significance. Eight investigated taxa (H. orphanidis and members of H. sphondylium group: H. sphondylium, H. sibiricum, H. montanum, H. ternatum, H. pyrenaicum subsp. pollinianum, H. pyrenaicum subsp. orsinii and H. verticillatum) belong to the type section of the genus. Additionally analyzed taxon, H. austriacum subsp. siifolium, belongs to H. sect. Wendia. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the essential oils was performed by GC-FID and GC/MS, and of the furanocoumarins by LC/MS. Furanocoumarins were identified using standards and/or based on UV, MS, ¹ H- and ROESY NMR spectra. Multivariate statistics (PCA, nMDS, UPGMA) of analyzed metabolites showed that the investigated taxa were grouped according to their taxonomic classification. PCA revealed the significance of some monoterpenes and (Z)-falcarinol of the underground parts oils, octyl esters of the fruit oils, and most of the total of 12 identified furanocoumarins.