Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of oil from wild Achillea setacea and A. vermicularis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine and compare the composition of volatile components of two species, A. setacea and A. vermicularis, under the temperate climatic conditions (north of Iran) and to investigate quantification of fatty acids in the oil extracted using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector and to evaluate the antioxidant potential and the phytochemical profile in terms of phenolic acids and flavonoids content of the oils obtained from the plants. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the essential oils showed that the major compounds of A. setacea were nerolidol (20%) and α-cubebene (14%), while in A. vermicularis were camphor (15%) and borneol (13%). Oil analysis revealed that the major components were palmitic and myristic acids. Chromatographic separation of their phenolic compounds (high-performance liquid chromatography) demonstrated that sinapic, gallic, caffeic, vanillic, syringic, and ferulic acids were present in the two oils of the plants, but in different amounts. These results confirmed A. setacea and A. vermicularis as important sources of bioactive metabolites.