The Phytochemical and Functional Characterization of the Aerial Parts of Artemisa alba Turra (Asteraceae) Grown in Romania

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Artemisia alba Turra is a plant used in folk medicine. Due to its significant polymorphism, there are different chemotypes. This study aimed to characterize the specific chemotypes and evaluate the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiproliferative potential of an ethanol extract of A. alba Turra aerial parts prepared from plants harvested from the “Alexandru Borza” Botanical Garden, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The extract phytochemical analysis performed by measuring total polyphenol content (3.4 ± 0.21 mgGAE/g d.w.), total polyphenolic flavonoids (147.12 ± 10.09 mg QE/100 g d.w.), and HPLC-ESI MS polyphenol profiles indicated that in the A. alba Tura extract from the hydroxycinnamic acids chlorogenic acid, caffeoyl tartaric acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid had and from the flavonols, isorhamnetin-rutinoside and rutin had the highest concentration. The extract exhibited good in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity by reducing oxidants without significant effects on antioxidants. The anti-inflammatory effect tested on rat turpentine oil-induced inflammation was indicated by the reduction in NLRP3 inflammasome markers, NfkB-p65, IL-1β, IL-18, caspase-1, and gasdermin D. The extract had in vitro antiproliferative activity against ovarian tumor cell lines at concentrations from 12.5 to 50 μg/mL, and this mechanism was linked to MDR and NF-κB modulation. A. alba Turra had no liver toxicity and reduced kidney injury associated with inflammation. These findings indicated that this specific Romanian chemotype of A. alba Turra has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative properties with potential applications as tumor microenvironment-targeted therapy.