Chemical composition of wild and commercial Achillea millefolium L. and bioactivity of the methanolic extract, infusion and decoction

Medicinal plants used in folk medicine are being increasingly studied and used on pharmaceutical, food and nutraceutical fields. Herein, wild and commercial samples of Achillea millefolium L. (yarrow) were chemically characterized with respect to their macronutrients, free sugars, organic acids, fatty acids and tocopherols. Furthermore, in vitro antioxidant properties (free radicals scavenging activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition) and antitumour potential (against breast, lung, cervical and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines) of their methanolic extract, infusion and decoction (the most consumed forms) was evaluated and compared to the corresponding phenolic profile obtained by high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Data obtained showed that the chemical profiles of wild and commercial samples, and also their methanolic extract, infusion and decoction were similar, varying only in the quantities found. Commercial yarrow have higher content of fat and saturated fatty acids, proteins, ash, energy value, sugars and flavonoids, while the wild sample revealed higher levels of carbohydrates, organic acids, unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic acids. The heterogeneity among the antioxidant and antitumour results of the samples and some low correlations with total phenolic compounds indicates that specific compounds, rather than the totality of them, are involved in the bioactive properties of samples.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011) and REQIMTE (PEst-C/EQB/LA0006/2011). M.I. Dias, L. Barros and R.C. Alves also thank to FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for their grants (SFRH/BD/84485/2012, SFRH/BPD/4609/2008 and SFRH/BPD/68883/2010, respectively). The GIP-USAL is financially supported by the Spanish Government through the Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Programme (FUN-C-FOOD, CSD2007-00063). M. Dueñas thanks to the Programa Ramón y Cajal for a contract