Distribution of Volatiles in Artemisia cana.

Abstract

The chemical composition of essential oils isolated from aerial parts of wild sage, Artemisia cana. Pursh (Asteraceae), was investigated. Analyses were performed by GC and GC/MS using two columns of different polarities, polyethylene glycol (DB-Wax) and 5% phenyl 95% polydimethylsiloxane (HP-5), which enabled the separation of several co-eluting components. Up to 2.3% of oil (w/w, dry basis) was obtained by hydrodistillation of aerial parts, excluding leafless woody stalks. The stalks of Artemisia. species contained insignificant amounts of essential oils. Flowers, leaves, and stalks yielded 2.8%, 2.4%, and 0.1% of oil, respectively. A total of 34 components were identified accounting for 92.6–87.6% of the oils. The chemical composition of the oils extracted from different plant parts was very similar. High contents of 1,8-cineole (20.8–11.0%) and camphor (55.2–37.4%) were found in Artemisia cana. oils. For pilot-scale testing purposes, aerial parts were separated from leafless woody stalks and processed in a 10L DIG-Maz extractor. The chemical composition of the recovered product was similar to that of the lab-distilled oil. The oil was characterized by a light yellow to green liquid with an herbaceous, balsamic, and fresh-camphoraceous odor.