Comparison of the chemical composition of four yarrow (<i>Achillea millefolium</i> L.) morphotypes

Abstract

Four morphotypes -white, pink, deep pink and red -of Achillea millefolium L. are cultiva ted in the collection of medicinal plants at the Kaunas Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University. The colour of linguiform flowers may be affected by a different phenotype or genotype of plants, therefore phytochemical investigations of four yarrow morphotypes were started. The main goal in this work was to evaluate differences in the total content of flavonoids and essential oils and to identify and quantify principal components of essential oils in various Achillea millefolium L. morphotypes. Gas chromatography was used for quantifying essential oil components in flowers and herb. Flowers contained more essential oils than did herb in all morphotypes of Achillea millefolium L. The total content of flavonoids ranged within 0.05-0.07%. The highest content of flavonoids was determined in the deep pink morphotype, and the content of essential oil was highest in the white morphotype of Achillea millefolium L. The total content of flavonoids and the essential oil composition of the white morphotype of Achillea millefolium L. were determined at different vegetation periods.

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-ulcerogenic potentials of Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.)

“…In the present study, non-polar and polar extracts produced peripheral analgesic activity in mice and thus indicates the presence of analgesic components that might influence the prostaglandin pathways. The polar extract is rich in phenolic compounds; mainly flavonoids and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives (Elgamal et al, 1991;Bimbiraite et al, 2008). Flavonoids are known for their anti-inflammatory activity due to their influence on the metabolism of arachidonic acid and histamine release.…”

Antioxidant Activity and Ethno pharmacological Survey of Achillea biebersteinii Afan. in the Treatment of Dysmenorrhoea in Traditional Medicine of Golestan Province, Iran

“…Flavonoids (apigenin, rutin, luteolin and campherol), and monoterpenes (alpha-pinene, 1,8-cineole and camphor ) are believed to be the source of the yarrow's antispasmodic benefits, while the alkaloid, achilleine, is believed to help control both internal and external bleeding. Meanwhile their amounts vary within different species based on ecological factors and climatic condition in different geographical regions (10,12,13). In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the flowers of Achillea species has been used for a variety of conditions such as bleeding, wounds, haemorrhoids, varicose veins, dysmenorrhoea and tuberculosis condition (3).…”

A review of the relaxant effect of various medicinal plants on tracheal smooth muscle, their possible mechanism(s) and potency

“…In Table 1 millefolium has been traditionally used in folk medicine to treat several ailments (Chandler et al, 1982). The main components of the plant include flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, terpenes, tannins, cis-carveol, achillin and leucosis (Bimbiraitė et al, 2008). A. millefolium has been found to exhibit several pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, antimicrobial (Candan et al, 2003), anti-inflammatory (Goldberg et al, 1969), antihypertensive and bronchodilatory (Khan and Gilani, 2011), urinary antiseptic (Benedek and Kopp, 2007;Bag et al, 2008) and…”