Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. (Sosnowsky’s hogweed), originally introduced to Central and Eastern Europe as a fodder crop, has become a highly invasive species due to its ecological adaptability, high reproductive capacity, and efficient seed dispersal. Despite its negative impact on native flora and its health risks to humans and animals, the species also represents a valuable source of biologically active compounds. In this study, we demonstrate that the leaves of H. sosnowskyi contain substantial amounts of furanocoumarins—phototoxic compounds with notable therapeutic potential, particularly as natural photosensitizers in anticancer therapies. To extract furanocoumarins from H. sosnowskyi, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was employed, with optimization of key parameters including extraction solvent (hexane), temperature (70 °C), extraction time (10 min), and solvent-to-solid ratio (20:1). Four major compounds—angelicin (2.3 mg/g), psoralen (0.15 mg/g), methoxsalen (0.76 mg/g), and bergapten (3.14 mg/g)—were identified and quantified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. To purify the extract and selectively isolate the target compounds, a solid-phase extraction method was developed using a Strata Eco-Screen sorbent and stepwise elution with a hexane–acetone mixture. As a result, pure angelicin, pure methoxsalen, and various mixtures of the furanocoumarins were obtained. These findings highlight the potential of H. sosnowskyi as a sustainable source of furanocoumarins for pharmaceutical applications.

In today’s chemistry, greener and more energy-efficient ways of making new materials are becoming increasingly important. In this work, two types of (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane-grafted silica were synthesized using a one-pot method with two different porogens: Pluronic P123 and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and then modified with silver nanoparticles. Both syntheses produced amorphous silica with crystalline silver. EDX and EDX elemental mapping confirmed that the modification with silver nanoparticles was successful, and an even distribution of silver on the silica surface with an average silver load of around 16% was determined. After silver nanoparticle modification, silica synthesized using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a porogen was mesoporous, whereas silica synthesis using Pluronic P123 as a porogen yielded a nonporous product. The synthesized silicas exhibited surface areas of 345 ± 2 and 8.80 ± 0.05 m²/g for samples prepared using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and Pluronic P123 as porogens, respectively, and both silicas were stable below 250 °C.