Variation in the essential oil composition of Artemisia annua L. of different origin cultivated in Finland

✍ Scribed by Y. Holm; I. Laakso; R. Hiltunen; B. Galambosi

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 158 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0882-5734
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1026(199707)12:4<241::aid-ffj641>3.0.co;2-z

✦ Synopsis

Seven batches of seeds of Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) of dierent origin were grown in Finland. The leaf essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation in yields of 0.4±0.9% (v/w). About 30 compounds were identi®ed and 19 key compounds, representing 87±96% of the total oil, are listed. There was a large variability in the essential oil composition in plants of dierent seed origin. Camphor, artemisia ketone, germacrene-D and b-caryophyllene were detected as the major compounds. One oil had an exceptionally high content of -a-pinene. Cluster analysis grouped the oils according to their origin, which shows that the essential oil composition is under strict genetic control. During the growing period the essential oil content and the amounts of artemisia ketone and 1,8-cineole reached a maximum about 2 weeks before budding. Camphor reached its maximum 2±3 weeks earlier. The enantiomeric ratios of À-camphene/-camphene and À-a-pinene/-a-pinene were determined for the ®rst time in an A. annua oil and studied during a growing period.