UAM-X

Screening of chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities

of Artemisia essential oils

DAÍSE LOPES-LUTZ, DANIELA S. ALVIANO, CELUTA S. ALVIANO, PAUL P. KOLODZIEJCZYK

Abstract

The chemical composition of essential oils isolated from aerial parts of seven wild sages from Western Canada – Artemisia absinthium L., Artemisia biennis Willd., Artemisia cana Pursh, Artemisia dracunculus L., Artemisia frigida Willd., Artemisia longifolia Nutt. and Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt., was investigated by GC–MS. A total of 110 components were identified accounting for 71.0–98.8% of the oil composition. High contents of 1,8-cineole (21.5–27.6%) and camphor (15.9–37.3%) were found in Artemisia cana, A. frigida, A. longifolia and A. ludoviciana oils. The oil of A. ludoviciana was also characterized by a high content of oxygenated sesquiterpenes with a 5-ethenyltetrahydro-5-methyl-2-furanyl moiety, of which davanone (11.5%) was the main component identified. A. absinthium oil was characterized by high amounts of myrcene (10.8%), trans-thujone (10.1%) and trans-sabinyl acetate (26.4%). A. biennis yielded an oil rich in (Z)- beta-ocimene (34.7%), (E)-beta-farnesene (40.0%) and the acetylenes (11.0%) (Z)- and (E)-en-yn-dicycloethers. A. dracunculus oil contained predominantly phenylpropanoids such as methyl chavicol (16.2%) and methyl eugenol (35.8%). Artemisia oils had inhibitory effects on the growth of bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis), yeasts (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans), dermatophytes (Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis, and Microsporum gypseum), Fonsecaea pedrosoi and Aspergillus niger. A. biennis oil was the most active against dermatophytes, Cryptococcus neoformans, Fonsecaea pedrosoi and Aspergillus niger, and A. absinthium oil the most active against Staphylococcus strains. In addition, antioxidant (beta-carotene/linoleate model) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities were determined, and weak activities were found for these oils.

Keywords: Artemisia absinthium L., Artemisia biennis Willd, Artemisia cana Pursh, Artemisia dracunculus L., Artemisia frigida Willd, Artemisia longifolia Nuttall, Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt., Essential oil composition, Antimicrobial activity, Antioxidant activity.

Screening-of-chemical-composition-antimicrobial-and-antioxidant-activities-of-Artemisia-essential-oils.pdf

Sesquiterpene lactones of Artemisia

Constituents of A. Ludoviciana ssp. Mexicana*

K. H. LEE AND T. A. GEISSMAN

Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90024

(Receiued 29 July 1969)

Abstract

Five sesquiterpenoid lactones have been isolated from Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. ssp. Mexicana (Willd.) Keck. These include three new santanolides, ludovicin-A (III), -B (VI) and -C (VIII), and the known douglanine (I). The co-occurrence of these four closely related compounds suggests a realistic sequence of biosynthetic transformations.