GC-MS Analysis and Antioxidant Activity of the Essential Oil from Flowers of Achillea millefolium L. Under Temperate Climatic Conditions of Kashmir

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and content of different components in essential oil of Achillea millefolium under temperate climatic conditions. The yield of essential oil observed was 0.36% on fresh weight basis. Twenty five components were identified in the essential oil by GC-MS, contributing to 100% of the oil content including 7 monoterpene alcohols (41.02%), 2 monoterpene ketones (35.74%), 7 monoterpene hydrocarbons (14.91%), 3 sesquiterpene alcohols (5.32%), 5 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (2.62%) and 1 sesquiterpene ketone (0.39%). The main constituents observed were (+)-2-bornanone (35.15%), followed by eucalyptol (30.80%), sabinene (5.57%), α-terpineol (5.07%), camphene (4.22%) and copaen-4-α-ol(3.43%). Also, maximum antioxidant activity of 85.58% at 300 µg/ml was observed with DPPH.

Keywords:

• Achillea millefolium
• Essential oil
• Chemical composition