Chemical constituents of the leaf and flower oils from Anthemis altissima L. var. altissima from Iran

About 130 species of genus Anthemis occur throughout the world. Thirty-nine of them could be found in flora of Iran. According to literature, this species was not the subject of research up to now and therefore its chemical composition is not well known. However, flavonoids, polyphenolic acids, terpene and sesquiterpene compounds were reported to be the major constituents of some other species of the genus Anthemis. Chemical data concerning the qualitative and quantitative composition of Anthemis altissma oil are presented here for the first time. According to literature, oils of A. ruthenica, A. carpatica, A. montana have been extensively studied. Anthemis altissima var. altissima Growing wild in North Iran [Elburz area: Ghameshahr, Pole-Sefid, 300 m, Mozaffarian 80548 (TARI)] was collected in 18 July 2001. The plant specimen was determined by Iranian Botanical Garden (IBG) staff. About 50 g leaves and 168 g flowers were separated and subjected to separate hydro-distillation using a Clevenger-type system. The oil yields obtained were leaves 0.25% and flowers 0.15% on a fresh weight basis. The volatile constituents of Anthemis altissima L. var. altissima were isolated by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The major constituents of A. altissima flower oil were spathulenol (18.7%), caryophyllene oxide (9.3%), 1-eicosene (7%) and sabinene (6.2%), while the leaf oil contained spathulenol (18.2%), caryophyllene oxide (9.5%), methyl hexadecanoate (8%) and isocaryophyllene (7.4%)