Chemical Composition of theArtemisia annuaEssential Oils from Hungary

Chemical composition of the essential oils of 85 individuals of Artemisia annua L. was determined by GC. The plant material was cultivated in Budaörs (near Budapest). The essential oil content varied between 0.48–0.81%. The main components of the oil obtained from fresh flowering shoots were artemisia ketone (33–75%) and artemisia alcohol (15–56%). Five other components of the oils were identified by GC/MS. Four different types of A. annua oils were identified: (a) 41% of the individuals contained artemisia ketone (75%) and artemisia alcohol (15%); (b) a decreasing ratio of artemisia ketone and an increasing ratio of artemisia alcohol (38% of the individuals); (c) artemisia ketone (50%) and artemisia alcohol (45%) (14% of individuals); and (d) artemisia ketone (33%) and artemisia alcohol (56%) (7% of individuals).