Essential oil from rhizome and leaf of Peucedanum ostruthium W. D. J. Koch: comparative micromorphological and phytochemical analyses

Cristina Danna 1, Antonella Smeriglio 2, Domenico Trombetta 2, Martina Imbesi 2, Laura Cornara 1

Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genova, Italy 1, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Enviromental Sciences (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy 2

Peucedanum ostruthium W. D. J. Koch (Apiaceae family) is a perennial rhizomatous herbaceous species growing in alpine environments. The plant, known as masterwort, is renowned in traditional medicine since Middle Ages and referred in historical and recent ethnobotanical studies (1). Several pharmacological research have investigated the plant extracts, especially focusing on the rhizomes rich in coumarins, while few studies are available regarding the essential oil (EO) of P. ostruthium (2–4). We collected the species in Aosta Valley and studied both the rhizome and the leaf from a micromorphological and phytochemical perspectives. Anatomical features focusing on the oil ducts, in which the EO is formed, were elucidated through Light, Fluorescence and Scanning Electron microscopy. Secretory ducts, typical of the Apiaceae family, were found in both leaves and rhizomes, present in the latter in greater quantity and size. In the cross sections stained with Fluorol Yellow, the secretory channels and their contents reacted with a strong yellow-green fluorescence due to the presence of terpenoids. The EOs from both parts were obtained through hydro-distillation and the phytochemical profiles were acquired through GC-FID and GC-MS analyses. Phytochemical analyses highlighted a very different phytochemical profile of the EO depending on the part of the plant from which it was isolated, with the one obtained from the rhizome being much richer. Specifically, the EO isolated from P. ostruthium leaves showed the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene as the most abundant compound (21.58%) followed by β-selinene (13.95%), humulene (α-caryophyllene, 13.82%), germacrene (10.33%), naphthalene (6.82%) and espatulenol (6.65%). On the contrary, the EO isolated from the rhizome showed the monoterpene D-limonene as the most abundant compound (28.01%) followed by sabinene (19.01%), α-phellandrene (11.56%) and terpinene-4-ol (5.44%). These substantial phytochemical differences could also reflect a different behaviour of the two EOs from a biological point of view. For these reasons, studies are currently underway to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. 1. Danna C, Poggio L, Smeriglio A, Mariotti M, Cornara L. Ethnomedicinal and Ethnobotanical Survey in the Aosta Valley Side of the Gran Paradiso National Park (Western Alps, Italy). Plants. 2022;11(2). doi:10.3390/plants11020170 2. Carron C, Simonnet X, MC Cardell JH, Héritier J, Carlen C. Sélection d ’un écotype d ’impératoire (Peucedanum ostruthium ( L .) W . D . J . Koch). 2020;52(2):96-103. 3. Cisowski W, Sawicka U, Mardarowicz M, Asztemborska M, Luczkiewicz M. Essential oil from herb and rhizome of Peucedanum ostruthium (L. Koch.) ex DC. Zeitschrift fur Naturforsch - Sect C J Biosci. 2001;56(11-12):930-932. doi:10.1515/znc-2001-11-1202 4. Garzoli S, Iriti M, Vitalini S. Chemical composition, antiradical and phytotoxic activity of the essential oil from Peucedanum ostruthium W.D.J.Koch leaves. J Phytomolecules Pharmacol. 2022;1(2):88-95. doi:10.56717/jpp.2022.v01i02.011

Main author career stage: PhD student

Contribution type: Talk

First choice session: 4. Structure, physiology, and development

Second choice session: 6. Plants, Fungi and Society