Chemical composition of headspace fractions from fruits and roots of selected Heracleum taxa collected in Southeastern Europe and its chemosystematic significance

Abstract

Headspace fractions of fruits and/or roots of Heracleum sphondylium, H. sibiricum, H. montanum, H. ternatum, H. pyrenaicum subsp. pollinianum, H. pyrenaicum subsp. orsinii and H. verticillatum, belonging to group H. sphondylium, and H. orphanidis, all from sect. Heracleum, as well as H. austriacum subsp. siifolium from sect. Wendia (from Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia or Slovenia) were isolated using automatic headspace sampler and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Chemosystematic significance of identified constituents was evaluated using multivariate statistics: PCA, nMDS and UPGMA. GC analysis of headspace fractions from 17 fruit samples of all investigated taxa showed that octyl acetate or α-pinene (sect. Heracleum), or n-octanol (H. austriacum) were the most abundant. The analysis of the fractions from 13 root samples of investigated taxa belonging to sect. Heracleum revealed prevalence of β-pinene or (Z)-β-ocimene (group H. sphondylium), or n-nonane (H. orphanidis). Statistical analysis of fruit fractions revealed separation of H. austriacum and H. orphanidis from investigated members of group H. sphondylium. Morphologically related H. sphondylium and H. montanum were grouped together and H. verticillatum was well separated from other representatives of group H. sphondylium. Complete separation of H. sibiricum, H. ternatum and H. pyrenaicum samples was noticed in root fractions statistical analysis.