Phytochemical study and comparison of natural compounds in essential oil and extract of Epilobium hirsutum by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods

Epilobium belonging to the Onagraceae family has many medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, anti-tumor, analgesic and anti-androgenic in traditional medicine. In this study, the aerial parts of Epilobium hirsutum L.were collected at the flowering stage from the heights of central Alborz, Mazandaran province, between Siah Bisheh and Zangoleh Bridge on July 19, 2017 and phytochemically studied for effective volatile compounds in essential oils and natural products in the extract. The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation using celvenger apparatus and was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by GC-MS method. Based on the results, the main compounds in the essential oil were related to alpha-pinene with 21.65%, delta-cadinen (15.29%) and 1 -8-cineole (12.24%). Hydrocarbon terpenes had the highest concentration in the essential oil. The natural compound in E. hirsutum extract was purified by column chromatography (CC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC). As a result, a natural compound called epigallocatechin gallate was extracted and identified by 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR and DEPT spectrophotometric techniques and its molecular structure was determined. In addition, the plant extract was investigated for the presence of phytochemical content and the presence of flavonoids (Shinoda method), alkaloids (Mayer test), tannins (Ferric chloride method), saponins (Froth method) and glycosides (Keller-Kiliani test). The presence of flavonoids (red color), Alkaloids (yellow precipitate) saponins (foam layer), glycosides (bluish green layer) and tannins (dark green for Catechol tannin) in the extract was aproved.