Essential oil composition and antiradical activity of two Artemisia species endemic to the island of Crete (Southern Greece)

Abstract

Artemisia arborescens and Artemisia inculta Delile, two species endemic to the island of Crete (southern Greece) were examined with regard to their essential oil composition. The main constituents of A. arborescens essential oil were found to be camphor (30.51%), trans-thujone (18.42%), and chamazulene (15.72%), while those of A. inculta were 1, 8-cineole (28.10%), cis-thujone (17.48%), trans-sabinol (12.49%), and trans-thujone (11.97%). The determination of the antiradical activity of the essential oils showed that the potency of A. arborescens is 40 times higher compared with that of A. inculta, a finding attributed to the high amount of chamazulene in A. arborescens.