Composition and Activities of Carpesium macrocephalum Franch. & Sav. Essential Oils

<i>Carpesium macrocephalum</i>, a species native to China, Korea, Japan, and Russia, has been used medicinally in the countries of its origin. Though mono- and sesquiterpenoids are known constituents of <i>C. macrocephalum</i>, the complete analysis of essential oils produced by the roots and aerial parts of the plant has not been published until now. The present study discloses considerable differences in the composition and cytotoxic activity of essential oils distilled from roots and shoots of <i>C. macrocephalum</i>. The GC-MS-FID analyses have led to the identification of 131 compounds in all, of which 114 were found in aerial parts and 110 in the roots of the plants. The essential oil distilled from shoots contained a mixture of nerol and thymol methyl ether (c. 26%), neryl isobutyrate (c. 12%) and linalool (c. 9%) as major constituents, whereas alantolactone (c. 29%), thymol methyl ether (c. 7%) and 2,5-dimethoxy-<i>p</i>-cymene (thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether, c. 7%) predominated in the essential oil obtained from the roots. The oils demonstrated weak antibacterial activity against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and, at concentrations up to 2.08 mg/mL (oil from the aerial parts) and up to 3.38 mg/mL (oil from roots), were inactive against Gram-negative bacteria. The essential oil from the roots of the plant demonstrated strong but not selective cytotoxic activity.