GC-MS analysis of the lipophilic principles of Echinacea purpurea and evaluation of cucumber mosaic cucumovirus infection.

An analytical GC-MS method based on nonpolar fused silica capillary column was developed to analyze the lipophilic constituents, mainly alkamides, from the root extracts of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench. In particular, the proposed method was applied to evaluate the phytochemical impacts of cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV) infection on the plant's lipophilic marker phytochemicals. Methanolic (70% v/v) extracts, obtained from root materials by ultrasonic treatments, were subjected to liquid-liquid extraction with n-hexane-ethyl acetate (1:1 v/v) to recover the lipophilic, volatile to semivolatile, principles. Seventeen components, including the 11 alkamides known to E. purpurea roots, were identified in the GC-MS traces of the analyzed fractions and efficiently separated in a turnaround time of 25 min. CMV infection was found to be responsible for significant variations in the relative compositions of the major constituents, in particular germacrene D, Dodeca-2E, 4E, 8Z, 10Z(E)-tetraenoic acid isobutylamide cis/trans isomers, Undeca-2Z, 4E-diene-8, 10-diynoic acid isobutylamide and Dodeca-2E, 4Z-diene-8, 10-diynoic acid isobutylamide.