Comparative study on chemical composition of fruit essential oil of Heracleum gorganicum Rech. F. in different altitudes

The genus of Heracleum is from Umbelliferae with 10 species growing in Iran of which, four species including H. gorganicum Rech. F. are endemic. The aim of the current study was to determine the quantity and quality of fruit essential oil of the mentioned species collected from Golestan national park at altitudes of 1400, 1700 and 2000 m. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillstion and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-one components were characterized for the seed oil. Main components of all essential oils were recorded for octyl acetate (33.1%, 36.6% and 39.9%), Hexyl butyrate 22.5%, 25.6%, 29.8% and Hexyl 2-methyl butyrate 5.4%, 6.3% and 7.1% respectively at altitudes of 1400, 1700 and 2000 m. It is noteworthy to state that no reports have been published yet on essential oil of the studied species.