Volatile Constituentes from Leaf and Flower of Achillea nobilis L. subsp. neireichii from North of Iran

Background: The genus Achillea (Asteraceae) is comprised of about 115 species in over the world. Remarkably, 19 species of this genus are found in the flora Iranica. This genus has been used in folk medicine. Objective: Investigation of the essential oil from leaf and flowers of Achillea nobilis L. subsp. neireichii. Methods: The aerial parts of A. nobilis L., subsp. neireichii were collected during the flowering stage from Damash village, West of Roodbar, Gilan Province, in July 2007. Leaves and flowers were separately hydrodistilled for 3 hours, using a Clevenger-type apparatus to yield 1.8% (w/w) and 1.0% (w/w) of yellow oil, respectively and analyzed with GC and GC/MS. The constituents of the essential oil were identified by comparison of their mass spectra and retention indices (RI) with those given in the literature, co-injection and authentic samples. Results: Forthy-four (86.8%) and forthy - two (93.4%) compounds were characterized in the oil of flowers and leaves of A. nobilis subsp. neireichii, respectively. 1,8-cineole (10.3%) and geranyl isovalerate (8.4%) were the major constituents in the oil of the flowers, also 1,8-Cineole (17.0%) and trans-verbenol (14.1%) were the major constituents in the oil of leaves. Conclusion: The oil of flowers and leaves of A. nobilis subsp. neireichii consist of monoterpens (59.8% and 72.2%) and sesquiterpens (22.2% and 12.6%), respectively