Essential Oil Variability in Natural Populations of Artemisia campestris (L.) and Artemisia herba‐alba (Asso) and Incidence on Antiacetylcholinesterase and Antioxidant Activities |
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Authors: | Faten Younsi Sameh Mehdi Oumayma Aissi Najoua Rahali Rym Jaouadi Mohamed Boussaid Chokri Messaoud |
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Affiliation: | 1. Laboratory of Nanobiotechnologies and Valorisation of Medicinal Phytoresources, Department of Biology, National Institute of Applied Science and Technology, University of Carthage, Tunis Cedex, Tunisia;2. Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, University of Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisia;3. Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of El‐Manar, Tunis, Tunisia |
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Abstract: | The intraspecific variability of Artemisia herba‐alba and A. campestris essential oils and the evaluation of their antioxidant and antiacetylcholinesterase activities were determined. Artemisia herba‐alba essential oil was found rich in camphor (19.61%), α‐thujone (19.40%), β‐thujone (9.44%), chrysanthenone (9.26%), and trans‐sabinyl acetate (8.43%). The major compounds of A. campestris essential oil were germacrene D (16.38%), β‐pinene (16.33%), and limonene (9.17%). Significant variation in the essential oil composition was observed among populations of each species. The divergence between populations was attributed to the variation of some climatic factors such as altitude, annual rainfall, winter cold stress, summer precipitation, summer drought stress, evapotranspiration, and humidity. Artemisia herba‐alba and A. campestris essential oils exhibited promising antioxidant and antiacetylcholinesterase activities. The level of activity varied significantly according to the species and the essential oil. The highest scavenging activity (IC50 = 0.14 mg/ml) and the uppermost capacity to prevent β‐carotene bleaching (IC50 = 0.10 mg/ml) characterized A. campestris from population 6. A. campestris population 3 possessed the uppermost ability to reduce ferric ions (450.7 μmol Fe2+/g EO). The population 2 of A. campestris showed the strongest antiacetylcholinesterase activity (IC50 = 0.02 mg/ml). The variation of these activities between the essential oils was explained by their composition differences. |
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Keywords: |
Artemisia
Chemical variability Antioxidant Antiacetylcholinesterase |
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