Chemovariation ofArtemisia herba albaAsso. Aromatic Plants of the Holy Land and the Sinai. Part XVI.

In continuation of our investigation of aromatic flora of the Holy Land, the systematic study of Artemisia herba alba essential oils has been conducted. The detailed composition of five relatively rare chemotypes of A. herba alba obtained through GC and GC/MS analysis are presented. To ensure the integrity of each chemotype the volatiles were extracted from individual plant specimens and bulked only if the GC profiles were substantially similar. The major constituents were: Type 1: 1,8 cineole (10.8%), α-thujone (40.9%) and β-thujone (34.9%); Type 2: 1,8 cineole (26.0%) and camphor (42.1%); Type 3; 1,8 cineole (26.6%) and β-thujone (44.0%); Type 4: cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (8.9%) and cis-chrysanthenol (30.0%); Type 5: cis-chysanthenol (6.8%) and cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (69.0%). This study showed that the population of A. herba alba in Israel consists of a much greater number of chemovarieties than was previously believed. Though chemovarieties are unevenly distributed in different geographic areas, no clear relation between the plant type and environmental conditions could be established.