Revista de Chimie https://revistadechimie.ro https://doi.org/10.37358/Rev.Chim.1949 Rev. Chim., 73 (3), 2022, 55-66 55 https://doi.org/10.37358/RC.22.3.8535 The Evaluation of Essential Oils Compositions, Mineral and Heavy Metal Content of Xanthium strumarium L. Grown in Cultural Conditions BELGIN COSGE SENKAL * , TANSU USKUTOGLU Yozgat Bozok University, Agriculture Faculty, Field Crops Department, Yozgat, Turkey Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigated the chemical composition of essential oils from different organs (fruits, leaves, and stems) and determined the heavy metal and nutrient elements in leaves of Xanthium strumarium cultivated in culture conditions. The essential oils of the plant parts dried in the shade isolated by hydrodistillation and the essential oils extracted by using Clevenger apparatus analyzed by GC-MS. Nutrients and heavy metals (aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, and sodium) in the leaves using an iCAP-Qc ICP-MS spectrometer detected. While the main components in the fruit essential oil were 6-epi-shyobunol (17.13%), α-bisabolene epoxide (12.34%), α-cadinol (10.28 %), and tau-cadinol (10.06%),the main components of leaves essential oil were recorded as α-cadinol (12.40%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.88%), while borneol (9.24%), isoaromadendrene epoxide (8.74%), cubedol (8.62%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (8.06%), tau-cadinol (6.79%), 2,2,6-trimethyl- 1-(3-methylbuta- 1,3-dienyl)-7-oxabicyclo[4.1.0]heptan-3-ol (5.01%), and α-bisabolene epoxide (5.00%) were recorded abundantly. Duraldehyde formed 79.92% of the stem essential oil. Other important components in this essential oil were mesitol with 8.89% and mesitioic acid with 4.49%. Among the three macro minerals (Ca, K and P) in the dried leaves of X. strumarium evaluated in the study, K had the highest value. The microelement content of the leaves varied between 0.305±0.002(Zn)-3.235±0.062 (Fe) ppm. The mineral content of the plant, whose fresh leaves are consumed as a vegetable by the local people, was found to be low. Generally, X. strumarium is a rich source of essential oil components. In this study, fruit essential oil was for the first time. The findings from this study can be useful for future studies. Keywords: Xanthium strumarium L., essential oil, 6-epi-shyobunol, α-cadinol, mineral 1. Introduction People all over the world pick herbs from natural areas and traditionally have them used in the treatment of diseases since ancient times. Depending on the progress of science and pharmacy techniques, the purification of the therapeutic active substances from herbs has been ensured and most of them have been obtained synthetically in the 19th and 20th centuries [1]. Recently, treatment with plants has become popular again due to serious side effects caused by synthetic drugs. Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) belonging to the Asteraceae family is an invasive weed in many parts of the world. The plant can be up to 1 m tall. There are purple spots on the thick, hairy, and spineless stem of the plant. The leaves are light and bright green, 4-12 cm long, usually 3-lobed and irregularly toothed. The plant blooms in June-July and matures in September-October. There are 2 seeds in each of the 1-3.5 cm long, egg-shaped fruit with needle-like projections on them [2]. In addition to being a weed, cocklebur, a valuable medicinal plant, is cultivated for vegetable purposes in China. [3,4]. It has been recorded that the young flower tops and the bottom two leaves of the plant are boiled in water and consumed as a vegetable in India and China [3,5]. Especially fruits and roots of this plant are used to prepare remedies for appetizing, diaphoretic, diuretic, etc. in folk medicine [3]. The fruits are collected when ripe and dried for use in decoctions. Its use was first mentioned in Chinese medicine. It is a common ingredient of Chinese patent remedies and is used to adulterate Datura stramonium [1]. *email:belgin.senkal@yobu.edu.tr