Identification of bioactive compounds in the leaves and stems of Aegopodium podagraria by various analytical techniques

The composition of essential oils of the leaves and stems of the Aegopodium podagraria growing wild in Estonia was determined using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 69 compounds representing over 95% of the total oil were identified. The oil from the stems of A. podagraria was rich in monoterpenes (92.0%). In the leaves oil mainly monoterpenes (43.8%) and sesquiterpenes (29.8%) were identified. The total and extractable content of six mineral elements and two trace elements of the leaves and stems of A. podagraria were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was employed in the fingerprint analysis of A. podagraria extracts.