Planta Med 2011; 77 - PE31
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282362

Chemical composition of the oil of Cicuta virosa L. from Kazakhstan

M Ishmuratova 1, T Ozek 2, G Ozek 2, KHC Başer 2, 3
  • 1Zhezkazghan Botanical Garden, Zhezkazghan, Karagandinskaya Oblast, 100600, Kazakhstan
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470 Eskişehir, Turkey
  • 3Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The present work is a part of our ongoing research into the volatiles of Apiaceae species. A well-known toxic plant, water hemlock, Cicuta virosa L. is widely distributed in the temperate regions. Herbal parts of C. virosa were collected in Karkaraly Mountain (Kazakhstan) during blossoming in 2009. The essential oil (yield 0.1%) was obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger type apparatus. Chemical composition of the oil was analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS methods.

The oil was found to be rich in sesquiterpenic compounds with (Z)-β-farnesene (22.7%), α-humulene (5.4%), humulene epoxide II (5.9%), caryophyllene oxide (3.4%), germacrene D (3.2%) and (Z,E)-α-farnesene (3.6%) as major constituents. Among the monoterpenes myrcene (7.8%) was detected in high percentage. Fatty acids were represented mostly by hexadecanoic acid (8.4%).

To the best of our knowledge, the essential oil of C. virosa from Kazakhstan was not investigated previously.