DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v13i0.156 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry Vol.13 2012: 28-30

Abstract:The essential oil compositions of four Artemisia species in Mongolian Trans-Altai Gobi were studied by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The oil from A.macrocephala Jacq and A.dracunculus Ledeb. were characterized by the presence of monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpeneoids predominately. E-nerolidol (26.95%), methyleugenol (23.29%) and sabinene (13.21%) were found as main components in the essential oils of A.dracunculus. A.macrocephalla was characterized by the presence of chamazulene (13.8%), cineol (11.7%), myrcene (9.0%), germacrene-D (7.1%). A.anethifolia Web was characterized by the presence of fragrant compounds as camphor (26.05%), α-thujone (10.1%), borneol (5.1%). Davanone and davanone derivatives were also detected in the sample in amount of 7.7% in total. A.scoparia Waldst differed by domination of monoterpene hydrocarbons (78.9%) with (Z)-β-ocimene (29.24%), α-pinene (15.19%), limonene (10.27%) and myrcene (9.61%).

Essential oils of aromatic and medicinal plants generally have a diverse range of activities because they possess many active constituents that work through a several modes of action. Artemisia, the largest genus of the family Asteraceae, has a number of effects against human and plant diseases. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate chemical compositions of essential oils of two Artemisia species, Artemisia palustris L and Artemisia sericea Weber ex Stechm from the Mongolian steppe zone using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The essential oil of A.palustris was characterized by the presence of monoterpene hydrocarbons such as trans-β-ocimene (59.1%), cis-β-ocimene (11.6%) and myrcene (7.1%), while the oil of A.sericea was dominated by the presence of three oxygenated monoterpenoids as 1,8-cineole (25.8%), borneol (22.5%) and camphor (18.8%) which are used for preparation of a fragrance and medicinal products.