Artemisia frigida Willd. of the Baikal region (Siberia): essential oils, tincture, and antiradical activity

Abstract

IntroductionArtemisia frigida Willd. is a promising medicinal plant that has been widely used in the traditional medicine of nomadic people. In this work, we study the composition of essential oils (EOs) and develop a method for obtaining a tincture from A. frigida, which can serve as a source of natural antioxidants. MethodsEO constituents are identified using GCMS. A tincture from A. frigida is developed as a source of antioxidants. Quantitative analysis of the total phenolcarboxylic acids was performed by UV-spectrophotometry. The antiradical activity was determined using the DPPH test. ResultsThe main components of A. frigida EOs are monoterpenoids, in particular 1,8-cineol, camphor, borneol, and terpineol-4, synergistic interactions of which determine the high antiradical activity, where IC50 is 45.85 μl/ml. Such chemical composition of EOs is typical for most A. frigida plants of steppe phytocenoses. In the EO of A. frigida growing at altitudes above 1300 m, the content of monoterpenoids decreases, and the proportion of sesquiterpenoids increases. The best conditions for the preparation of a high phenolic yielded tincture are the following: raw materials passing through a sieve with 0.5 mm holes in diameter are extracted by 80% (v/v) aqueous ethanol in a 1:9 ratio (raw material: extractant) for 90 minutes on an orbital shaker. The obtained tincture has high antiradical activity, with an IC50 value of 2.1 μl/ml. ConclusionsThese findings scientifically prove the efficacy of using A. frigida EO and the tincture from its base as a source of natural antioxidants.