Essential oil composition from leaves of Heracleum candicans Wall.: a sustainable method for extraction

Heracleum candicans Wall. (Apiaceae) is an important endangered aromatic species, exploited commercially with a destructive harvesting system from its natural habitat. We cultivated a wild strain of H. candicans, harvested leaves for extraction of essential oil and analyzed them. Twenty-eight compounds were identified from essential oil using gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC–FID) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. These compounds are very useful for the pharmaceutical, flavor and fragrance industries. Harvesting of the leaves for the production of essential oil is a sustainable method compared with uprooting plants. Being a perennial species, leaves can be harvested every year, as the aerial parts of the plant regenerate easily and farmers need not worry about planting every year.