The essential oil of Glossogyne tenuifolia

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Abstract

Glossogyne tenuifolia (Labill) Cass. (Compositae) is a traditional anti-pyretic and hepatoprotective herb in The Pescadores Islands. The essential oil of the dried herb, from four seasons, was isolated using a simultaneous steam-distillation and solvent-extraction (SDE) apparatus. The essential oil contents were in the range of 0.48–0.77 mg g−1, with an average of 0.66 mg g−1, and declined with the seasons. Generally, the essential oils from four seasons exhibited similar volatile profiles. A total of 62 different compounds were isolated by the SDE method and, among them, 30 compounds were identified, including 13 terpenes, 16 oxygen-containing compounds (eight alcohols, five aldehydes, one ester and two ketones) and one other compound. Terpenes were predominantly present in the essential oil and accounted for 61.3–76.0% of the essential oil with an average of 69.1%. The second most abundant class was alcohols, accounting for 12.4–15.9% of the essential oil, with an average of 14.1%. Consistently for four seasons, the most abundant eight compounds were in the descending order: p-cymene > β-pinene > β-phellandrene > limonene > cryptone > α-pinene > 4-terpineol + γ-muurolene. However, these eight compounds accounted for 71.5% of the average of the essential oil and, in combination, might give rise to the overall citrus-like aroma of the G. tenuifolia.

Introduction

Glossogyne tenuifolia (Labill) Cass. (Compositae), Hsiang-Ju, is a traditional anti-pyretic and hepatoprotective herb in The Pescadores Islands (Penghu County, Taiwan) (Hsieh, Hsieh, Chiu, & Lin, 1999). The herb is dried by solar radiation after harvest and the dried herb is cooked to yield the herbal tea. Lin (1997) found that the herb exhibited a protective effect against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. In addition, this herb exhibited some anti-oxidant properties, such as scavenging effect on hydrogen peroxide and xanthine/xanthine oxidase-mediated superoxide (Wu, Wang, Ding, Weng, & Yen, 2004). Recently, the extract from the herb showed anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects in cells (Wu et al., 2004, Wu et al., 2005). Two bio-active compounds, oleanolic acid and luteolin-7-glucoside, isolated from the ethanolic extract of this herb, were responsible for scavenging effects and anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects in cells (Lin et al., 1975, Wu et al., 2005).

Furthermore, the ethanolic and aqueous extracts from the herb possessed anti-mutagenic activities toward Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100, caused by 4-nitro-quinoline N-oxide and Benzo[a]pyrene (Han et al., 2004, Tsai et al., 2001). The anti-oxidant properties of ethanolic, cold water and hot water extracts of G. tenuifolia (including anti-oxidant activity, reducing power, scavenging and chelating abilities) and the anti-oxidant components in those extracts were also studied (Tsai, Yang, Han, & Mau, 2003).

In addition to its therapeutic effects, however, little information is available about the constituents in the essential oil of G. tenuifolia. Our objective was to extract the essential oil from dried G. tenuifolia, using a simultaneous steam-distillation and solvent-extraction (SDE) apparatus, and to identify the components in the essential oil by gas chromatographic retention indices, mass spectra and authentic compounds.

Section snippets

Plant material

The herb G. tenuifolia was planted in the Makung City, Penghu County, Taiwan in the first week of January, April, July and October, respectively. After three months of growth, the herb was harvested at the end of March, June, September and December, respectively, and dried by solar radiation. The identity of the herb samples was confirmed by the Penghu Branch Station, Kaohsiung District Agricultural Improvement Station and these voucher specimens were deposited at the Station. For the herb from

Results and discussion

Using the SDE method, the essential oil contents in G. tenuifolia were reported for the first time and in the range of 0.48 to 0.77 mg g−1 with an average of 0.66 mg g−1 and declined with the seasons (Table 1). The gas chromatographic profiles and compositions of the essential oil are presented in Fig. 1 and Table 1. Generally, the essential oils from four seasons exhibited similar volatile profiles, except for some quantitative differences. A total of 62 different compounds were isolated by the

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Science Council, Republic of China (Grant No. NSC 91-2313-B-158-001).

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