Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.)—A Wild-Growing Aromatic Medicinal Plant with a Variable Essential Oil Composition

Abstract

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) is an aromatic medicinal plant whose use is limited by the presence of toxic thujone. This research aimed to evaluate the morphological and chemical properties of tansy plants growing in various natural habitats. The research determined the content and chemical composition of the essential oil, the contents of flavonoids and phenolic acids, and the antioxidant activity levels of methanol extracts from tansy inflorescences. The highest amount of essential oil (1.05 mL·kg−1) was found in the raw material collected from the reclaimed area (R). Forty-seven compounds were identified in tansy oil, among which camphor (31.21–1.27%) and trans-chrysanthenyl acetate (76.09–0.09%) dominated, while the concentration of trans-thujone was low (2.67% on average). The highest amounts of flavonoids (0.52%) were found in the raw material collected from the ruderal (W) and reclaimed (R) sites, while the highest amount of phenolic acids (2.42%) was found in the raw material from the ruderal site (W). Tansy inflorescence extracts showed high antioxidant potential (88.41%). The reasons for the variability of the chemical composition of tansy were environmental and genetic variability factors.

In Vitro Study of Biological Activity of Tanacetum vulgare Extracts

“…The content of essential oils is an indirect indicator of plant adaptation [ 13 ]. For example, the essential oil of T. vulgare growing in Lithuania contains only four main compounds (1,8-cineole, trans-thujone, camphor, and myrtenol) [ 14 ], while the essential oil of the T. vulgare plant growing on the territory of Scandinavia and the Baltic states [ 7 , 15 ] has a more diverse composition, which includes 15 chemical compounds (α-thujone, β-thujone, camphor, chrysanthenylacetate/chrysanthenol, chrysanthenon, ketone/alcohol, and 1,8-cineole) [ 11 , 15 ]. It was demonstrated that such compounds as β-thujone, camphor, and chrysanthenium acetate are the main components of T. vulgare essential oil.…”

Physicochemical and Antibacterial Properties of Alginate Films Containing Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) Essential Oil

“…Analyzing the spectrum of pure tansy essential oil, the most intense band of C=O bond vibration was detected at 1739 cm −1 , which indicated the presence of compounds with carbonyl groups such as thujones, camphor, trans -chrysanthenyl acetate, or bornyl acetate [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Moreover, the bands in the ether region 1000–1300 cm −1 were also observed, indicating the occurrence of substances with ether linkages, such as 1,8-cineole [ 24 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. From the TO spectrum, one can infer that compounds with carbonyl groups are the main components of this oil.…”

“…Among various essential oils, tansy ( Tanacetum vulgare ) essential oil (TO) is extracted from flower baskets or leaves of tansy, and its main components are 1,8-cineole, β -thujone, α-thujone, cis -chrysanthenol, borneol, myrtenol, camphor, trans -chrysanthenyl acetate, artemisia ketone, (E)-dihydroxycarvone, trans -chrysanthenol, bornyl acetate, camphene, sabinene, and carvone [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Tansy is a perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.…”

“…Tansy is a perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. It grows natively in Europe and Asia in a moderate climate and in North America as introduced species that quickly adapts to new environments [ 25 , 26 , 28 , 31 ]. It grows wildly along roadsides, balks, banks of rivers, and wastelands [ 26 , 31 ], achieving 150 cm of height and forming yellow button-like flowers [ 28 , 33 ].…”

“…It grows natively in Europe and Asia in a moderate climate and in North America as introduced species that quickly adapts to new environments [ 25 , 26 , 28 , 31 ]. It grows wildly along roadsides, balks, banks of rivers, and wastelands [ 26 , 31 ], achieving 150 cm of height and forming yellow button-like flowers [ 28 , 33 ]. Its stems are usually branched from the bottom to the top, and its leaves are similar to fern leaves [ 28 ].…”