A Detailed Biological and Chemical Investigation of Sixteen Achillea Species’ Essential Oils via Chemometric Approach

Abstract

Representatives of the Achillea genus are widely used as foods or nutraceuticals. Considering the increasing demand for herbal dietary supplements with health promoting effects, the objective of this research was to evaluate the chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oils obtained from sixteen Achillea species (A. biebersteinii, A. wilhelmsii subsp. wilhelmsii, A. aleppica subsp. zederbaueri, A. vermicularis, A. monocephala, A. nobilis, A. goniocephala, A. sintenisii, A. coarctata, A. kotschyi subsp. kotschyi, A. millefolium subsp. millefolium, A. lycaonica, A. spinulifolia, A. teretifolia, A. setacea, and A. schischkinii). Anticholinesterase, antiurease, antityrosinase enzymes inhibition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, toxic and cytotoxic activities of obtained essential oils were investigated. DPPH activities were found to be very low in all studied samples, while ABTS and CUPRAC antioxidant activities were found to be moderate. In addition, all samples were found to have moderate anticholinesterase and antimicrobial effects. It has been determined that the studied species have low cytotoxicity and high toxicity. Besides, chemical composition of the essential oils were determined by GC/MS and the results were chemometrically analyzed. The chemometric analyses of Achillea species collected from nine different regions were accomplished by principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) techniques. According to the PCA analysis, A. nobilis subsp. neilreichii was found to be different from all studied species in terms of essential oil composition. The major components found in these species were piperitone, camphor, α‐terpinene, eucalyptol, artemisia ketone, endo‐borneol, β‐eudesmol and verbenol. The fact that camphor was toxic and found in majority of the studied species stands out as a remarkable result.

Comparative Phytochemical Evaluation in Several Achillea Species From Romania

“…It was shown that these subspecies also reveal significant morphological differences [30]. The literature survey revealed a high variability of Achillea species essential oil profile [12,13,20,36]. Flavonoid and phenolic compounds were detected at varying concentrations across the analysed species (Table III).…”

“…The genus Achillea, generally known as "yarrow", belongs to the richest and youngest evolutionary genera of the Asteraceae family [28]. About 140 perennial herbaceous species with worldwide distribution have been recognized in this genus [36]. Numerous species of the genus have been used traditionally as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, vermifuge, analgesic and expectorant etc.…”

“…Its richness in bioactive compounds has made this genus a promising candidate for future research and potential development of new drugs [16]. There are still numerous studies investigating the secondary metabolites of Achillea species known to be rich mainly in essential oils, sesquiterpene lactones, diterpenes, triterpenes, lignans, flavonoids and phenolic acids besides some other groups of compounds such as amino acids, fatty acids, alkane and inulin [3,12,20,36].…”

Essential oil content, chamazulene content and antioxidative properties of Achillea millefolium agg. extracts from Slovenia

“…Still, it appears that when picking yarrow for its essential oils, all taxa are similarly suitable for collection. The composition of essential oils, which was not tested here, however, most probably differs among taxa (Yener et al, 2020).…”

Achillea goniocephala Extract Loaded into Nanochitosan: In Vitro Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Activity

“…Camphor and 1,8-cineole were found to be the main ingredients (8). In another study, the essential oil of this plant was analysed and high amount endo-borneol, eucalyptol and camphor were found (9).…”