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Original article
13 (
5
); 5254-5261
doi:
10.1016/j.arabjc.2020.03.004

Characterization of secondary metabolites of leaf and stem essential oils of Achillea fragrantissima from central region of Saudi Arabia

, , , ,
a Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
b Department of Chemistry, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

⁎Corresponding author. mkhan3@ksu.edu.sa (Merajuddin Khan)

Received: , Accepted: ,
© The Author(s) 2020
Disclaimer:
This article was originally published by Elsevier and was migrated to Scientific Scholar after the change of Publisher.

Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.

Abstract

In this paper, a detailed study on chemical characterization of essential oils (EOs) constituents of leaves and stems of Achillea fragrantissima were carried out using GC-FID and GC–MS analysis employing two different stationary phase columns. In the studied plant which is collected from the central region of Saudi Arabia, trans-sabinyl acetate and trans-sabinol have been identified as the major components. To the best of our knowledge, these components are being reported for the first time as the major constituents in the EOs of A. fragrantissima. The results showed that chief chemical components of both (leaves and stems) oils were found to be almost same, however, their contents varied noticeably from each other. Among 108 identified components in the leaves oil, the major components were trans-sabinyl acetate (20.7 ± 0.00), trans-sabinol (14.9 ± 0.13), artemisia ketone (12.7 ± 0.46), santolina alcohol (10.1 ± 1.30), β-sesquiphellandrene (5.5 ± 0.01), β-thujone (5.1 ± 0.11). Whereas, in the stem oil 85 components were identified and trans-sabinyl acetate (24.0 ± 0.19), trans-sabinol (19.2 ± 0.01), artemisia ketone (16.3 ± 0.74), santolina alcohol (10.4 ± 1.50), and β-sesquiphellandrene (4.8 ± 0.01) were found to be the major components. Among the identified components form both oils, 23 components were specific to only leaves oil, whereas 85 components were found to be common in both oils.

Keywords

Essential oils
Achillea fragrantissima
GC–MS
trans-Sabinyl acetate
Asteracea
1

1 Introduction

Recently, due to the growing environmental concerns the interest of the scientific community in medicinal and other aromatic plants derived from the traditional sources of knowledge has been renewed (Martins and Brijesh, 2018; Petrovska, 2012). Achillea fragrantissima, which is traditionally used (in the form of tea, infusion, extracts and phytomolecules) for various medical purposes in the Arabian region against different types of diseases such as hepatobiliary disorders, inflammatory and spasmodic gastrointestinal complaints, skin inflammations and wound healing etc. (Bartolotti et al., 2018; Patocka and Navratilova, 2019). Besides, this plant is also known for its excellent anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, which are typically ascribed to its rich contents of polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenes and alkamides (Mudawi et al., 2017).

A. fragrantissima (Forssk.) Sch. Bip. (synonym Santolina fragrantissima Forssk.) belongs to the family Asteraceae and is locally known in Arabic as Qaysum, which is widely distributed in the North African, eastern mediterranean coastal and Middle Eastern regions (Barel et al., 1991). It is a desert flowering plant of the genus Achillea, which include more than 100 species and is chemically characterized by the accumulation of sesquiterpenic lactones and flavonoids (Hammad et al., 2014). So far, a variety of bioactive substances have been identified from the extracts of different parts of A. fragrantissima including different types of phenolic acids like protocatechuic, vanilic, chlorogenic etc., a variety of flavonoids like apigenin, apigenin-glycoside, luteolin, vitexin and so on. Besides various types of bioactive flavonoids other class of phytomolecules such as lignans (sesamin), terpenic lactones (achillolid A) and alkamides (pellitorin, 8,9-Z-dehydropellitorin, anacyclin) have also been extracted from A. fragrantissima (El-Ashmawy et al., 2016). However, the amount of these bioactive compounds present in A. fragrantissima varies widely depending upon the region where the plant grows.

Interestingly, A. fragrantissima has demonstrated enormous chemical diversity due to the presence of a variety of different chemotypes in the plants grown in different regions of the world. Although, few studies have been reported on the medicinal applications and isolation of bioactive phytochemicals of A. fragrantissima from Saudi Arabia. For instance, in a recent study, the phytochemical constituents of essential oils (EOs) extracted through a hydro-distillation process of dried aerial parts of A. fragrantissima cultivated in Egypt and Madinah Monawara, Saudi Arabia, were analyzed and compared using gas chromatography. Notably, the plant collected from Madinah contained α-thujone, whereas the plant from Sharkia (Egypt) has exhibited santolina alcohol as the major component (Farouk et al., 2019). However, to the best of our knowledge, detailed analysis of the chemical profile of the EOs of A. fragrantissima plant grown in the central region of Saudi Arabia has not been performed yet. Therefore, the study of the chemical constituents of A. fragrantissima cultivated in this region of Saudi Arabia is highly desirable. Herein, we study the chemical compositions of essential oils extracted from the leaves and stems of A. fragrantissima grown in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia. The chemical profiling of EOs was performed by GC-FID and GC–MS characterization techniques on two unlike stationary phase (polar and non-polar) columns.

2

2 Materials and methods

2.1

2.1 Plant material

Entire aerial parts of A. fragrantissima were collected from Rawdat Khuraim (Fig. 1) area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February 2011. Identification of A. fragrantissima were authenticated by Dr. J. T. Pandalayil, a botanist at KSU. A specimen sample (AFR-21) of A. fragrantissima is retained in our research laboratory.

Geographic coordinate (via GPS) of the plant material collection location.
Fig. 1
Geographic coordinate (via GPS) of the plant material collection location.

2.2

2.2 Essential oil extraction from the leaves and stems of A. fragrantissima

Firstly, the leaves and stems from the freshly collected aerial parts of A. fragrantissima were carefully separated from each other. The separated leaves (150 g) and stems (95 g) were chopped into small pieces (0.2–0.3 cm) and separately subjected to a Clevenger apparatus for hydro-distillation as described earlier (Khan et al., 2016b). After 3 h of distillation 2.5 g and 0.72 g yellow color oils were obtained from leaves and stems of A. fragrantissima, respectively. The yields of the oils from the leaves and stems of A. fragrantissima were 1.7% and 0.8% (w/w) on a fresh weight basis, respectively. The EOs obtained from leaves and stems of A. fragrantissima were dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and stored at 4 °C until they were analyzed.

2.3

2.3 Chemicals

Analytical grade DEE (diethyl ether) from Sigma–Aldrich, Germany was used for the dilution of leaves and stems EOs of A. fragrantissima. Pure volatile constituents, e.g., α-pinene, α-terpinene, β-pinene, terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, eugenol, and α-bisabolol, along with volatile oils with high contents of limonene, sabinene, β-myrcene, β-phellandrene, α-terpinolene, germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, caryophyllene oxide, α-thujene and α-terpinene were available with us and used for co-injection/comparative analysis.

2.4

2.4 GC and GC–MS analysis of A. fragrantissima EOs

Chemical analysis for the determination of A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs constituents were carried out by GC-FID and GC–MS analysis having two different stationary phase columns (HP-5MS and DB-Wax) applying the same method as described earlier (Khan et al., 2016a). Detailed methodology is provided in Supplementary materials (S1). The identified constituents of A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs and their relative percentages are provided in Table 1 and constituents are listed according to their elution order on the HP-5MS column.

Table 1 Percentage compositions of leaf and stem EOs of A. fragrantissima from central Saudi Arabia.
No. Compound LRILit LRIExpa LRIExpp AFL (%)b AFS (%)b
1 Isoamyl acetate – 875 1123 t t
2 Heptanal – 901 1184 t t
3 Santolina triene 906 907 1032 1.5 ± 0.41 1.2 ± 0.38
4 Artemisia triene 923 – 1067 t t
5 Ethyl 3-Methyl-2-Butenoate – – 1226 t t
6 α-Thujene 924 926 – 0.1 0.1
7 Ethyl tiglate 929 – 1238 t t
8 α-Pinene 932 933 1019 0.2 0.2
9 Sabinene 969 973 1119 1.0 0.6
10 β-Pinene 974 976 1104 0.1 0.1
11 2-Pentyl furan 984 990 – 0.1 0.1
12 Myrcene 988 992 1164 0.6 0.1
13 Yomogi alcohol 999 999 1395 2.1 ± 0.57 2.4 ± 0.49
14 δ-3-Carene 1008 1012 – 0.1 0.1
15 α-Terpinene 1014 1016 1177 0.1 0.1
16 p-Cymene 1020 1024 1269 0.3 0.2
17 Limonene 1024 – 1196 0.1 0.1
18 β-Phellandrene 1025 1029 1205 0.2 –
19 1,8-Cineole 1026 1031 1208 0.4 0.3
20 (Z)-β-Ocimene 1032 1034 1238 0.1 0.1
21 Santolina alcohol 1034 1038 1409 10.1 ± 1.30 10.4 ± 1.50
22 γ-Terpinene 1054 1059 1245 0.2 –
23 (E)-2-Octenal – – 1431 t t
24 Artemisia ketone 1056 1063 1352 12.7 ± 0.46 16.3 ± 0.74
25 cis-Sabinene hydrate 1065 1068 – 0.1 0.1
26 n-Octanol 1063 1070 1556 0.2 0.2
27 Artemisia alcohol 1080 1083 1511 0.8 0.9
28 α-Terpinolene 1086 1089 1282 t –
29 Isobutyl tiglate 1088 1098 1361 t 0.1
30 Isopentyl 2-methylbutanoate 1100 1100 1280 0.1 0.1
31 Isopentyl isovalerate 1102 1104 1297 0.1 0.1
32 α-Thujone 1101 1107 1424 3.9 ± 0.03 3.6 ± 0.03
33 1-Octen-3-yl acetate 1110 1115 1378 0.1 0.1
34 β-Thujone 1112 1118 1445 5.1 ± 0.11 3.2 ± 0.08
35 trans-Sabinol 1137 1144 1710 14.9 ± 0.13 19.2 ± 0.01
36 trans-Verbenol 1140 1147 1687 0.1 t
37 Camphor 1141 1149 – 0.1 –
38 Sabina ketone 1154 1157 – 1.3 ± 0.11 0.3 ± 0.06
39 Isoborneol 1155 1160 – 0.1 0.1
40 Pinocarvone 1160 1165 1568 0.1 0.1
41 Lavandulol 1165 1167 1683 0.4 0.4
42 Artemisia acetate 1169 1172 – 0.3 0.3
43 Terpinen-4-ol 1174 1179 1608 0.5 0.3
44 Isoverbanol – 1182 – t 0.1
45 α-Thujenal – 1186 1630 0.1 0.2
46 Cryptone 1183 1189 – 0.1 t
47 α-Terpineol 1186 1191 1705 0.1 –
48 Myrtenol 1193 1194 1800 0.1 0.1
49 Methyl chavicol 1195 1199 1673 0.4 0.3
50 (E)-Ocimenone 1235 1238 – 0.1 0.1
51 Cuminaldehyde 1238 1242 – 0.1 0.1
52 Ethyl phenyl acetate – 1246 1789 t –
53 Lavandulyl acetate 1288 – 1610 0.3 0.2
54 trans-Sabinyl acetate 1289 1297 1659 20.7 ± 0.00 24.0 ± 0.19
55 trans-Pinocarvyl acetate 1298 1302 – t –
56 Myrtenyl acetate 1324 1325 1693 0.1 –
57 p-Mentha-1,4-dien-7-ol 1325 – 2062 t t
58 δ-Elemene 1335 1341 1472 0.6 0.3
59 Eugenol 1356 1359 2171 0.1 0.1
60 cis-Carvyl acetate 1365 1364 – 0.1 –
61 β-Elemene 1389 1395 1592 0.1 0.1
62 (Z)-Jasmone 1392 1401 1950 0.4 0.3
63 Methyl eugenol 1403 1404 2017 0.1 0.1
64 α-Gurjunene 1409 1417 – 0.1 0.1
65 Cuminyl acetate – – 1972 t t
66 β-Caryophyllene 1417 1425 1599 0.2 0.1
67 β-Copaene 1430 1434 1594 0.1 0.1
68 trans-α-Bergamotene 1432 1438 1538 0.1 –
69 (E)-β-Farnesene 1454 1458 1669 0.9 0.1
70 β-Acoradiene 1469 1465 1665 0.1 0.1
71 Isoamyl phenylacetate – 1481 2006 0.1 –
72 Germacrene D 1484 1488 1714 3.3 ± 0.33 1.8 ± 0.28
73 β-Selinene 1489 1493 1723 0.1 0.1
74 Bicyclosesquiphellandrene – – 1749 t –
75 Bicyclogermacrene 1500 1503 1739 0.8 0.3
76 α-Muurolene 1500 1505 1729 0.2 0.2
77 trans-β-Guaiene 1502 1509 – 0.1 –
78 (E,E)-α-Farnesene 1505 – 1751 0.1 0.1
79 δ-Guaiene – – 1618 0.1 0.1
80 7-epi-α-Selinene 1520 1519 1764 0.1 –
81 β-Sesquiphellandrene 1521 1529 1775 5.5 ± 0.01 4.8 ± 0.01
82 δ-Cadinene 1522 – 1761 0.1 t
83 (Z)-Nerolidol 1531 1539 – 0.1 –
84 Elemol 1548 1554 2086 0.2 0.2
85 Germacrene D-4-ol 1574 1577 2056 0.1 –
86 Spathulenol 1577 1584 2131 0.3 0.1
87 Caryophyllene oxide 1582 1591 1990 0.1 t
88 Viridiflorol 1592 – 2092 0.1 t
89 Humulene epoxide II 1608 1606 2045 t t
90 Isoeugenyl acetate 1614 1612 2404 0.1 –
91 1,10-di-epi-Cubenol 1618 1617 2067 0.4 0.3
92 1-epi-Cubenol 1627 1623 – 0.1 –
93 γ-Eudesmol 1630 1630 2178 0.2 0.2
94 α-Acorenol 1632 1635 2126 0.4 0.3
95 β-Eudesmol 1649 1658 2238 0.8 1.5
96 α-Cadinol 1652 1661 2243 0.1 –
97 7-epi-α-Eudesmol 1662 1666 – 0.1 0.1
98 β-Bisabolol 1674 1676 2152 0.2 0.1
99 epi-α-Bisabolol 1683 1688 – 0.3 0.1
100 α-Bisabolol 1685 1692 2222 0.2 –
101 (2Z,6Z)-Farnesol 1698 1694 2324 0.3 0.5
102 Tetradecanoic acid – 1764 – 0.1 –
103 α-Costol 1773 1774 2590 0.1 0.1
104 Palmitic acid 1959 1958 – 0.1 0.2
105 (E)-Phytol 1942 2108 2618 0.3 0.1
106 n-Tricosane 2300 2300 2300 0.1 –
107 n-Pentacosane 2500 2500 2500 0.1 t
108 n-Heptacosane 2700 2700 2700 t –
Monoterpene hydrocarbons 4.6 2.9
Oxygenated monoterpenes 75.8 83.5
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons 12.6 8.3
Oxygenated sesquiterpenes 4.2 3.5
Aliphatic hydrocarbons 0.3 0.1
Oxygenated aliphatic hydrocarbons 0.8 0.9
Diterpenoid 0.3 0.1
Aromatics 0.1 0
Total identified 98.7 99.3

*Components are recorded as per their order of elution from a nonpolar column.

b Mean percentage calculated from FID data and compounds higher than 1.0% are highlighted in boldface and their ± SD (n = 2) are mentioned; LRILit = Linear retention index from the literature (Adams, 2007); LRIExp
a Computed LRI with reference to n-alkanes mixture (C8-C31) on nonpolar column; LRIExp
p Computed LRI with reference to n-alkanes mixture (C8-C31) on polar column; AFL = A. fragrantissima leaves EO; AFS = A. fragrantissima stem EO; t = trace (<0.05%).

2.5

2.5 Calculation of linear retention indices (LRIs)

LRIs values of A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs constituents were determined following a previously reported method (Khan et al., 2016a), and these are listed in Table 1. Detailed methodology is provided in Supplementary materials (S2).

2.6

2.6 Identification of volatile components

Identification of the A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs constituents were carried out via analysis on DB-Wax and HP-5MS columns as described previously (Khan et al., 2016a). Detailed methodology is provided in Supplementary materials (S3). GC–FID chromatogram for the identified constituents of A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs on HP-5MS column is given in Fig. 1s and Fig. 2s, respectively (Supplementary materials).

3

3 Results and discussion

For the purpose of the detail analysis of the essential oil (EO) components of the aerial parts of A. fragrantissima. The EOs of leaves and stems of A. fragrantissima were extracted through a hydro-distillation process for three hours using a Clevenger-type apparatus (Khan et al., 2016b). The detail analysis of the as-obtained EOs was performed using a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC–FID) using both polar and nonpolar columns. The analysis has revealed the presence of 108 compounds in the EO of leaves, whereas a total of 85 compounds were identified in the stems oil. Among the 108 compounds identified in both oils, 85 compounds were found to be present in both the oils. Whereas, 23 components were specifically present in the leaves oils. All the identified components and their respective amounts are provided in the Table 1 according to their elution order on a nonpolar (HP-5MS) column.

According to the results presented in the Table 1, oxygenated monoterpenes were found to be dominated in both oils. For example, the stems oil contained 83.5% of oxygenated monoterpenes, whereas, the leaves oil exhibited the presence of 75.8% of these components. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were present at distant second position in the studied oils, which were present in the amount of 8.3% in the stems oil and 12.6% in the leaves oil, respectively. After these two types of compounds which were mainly dominated, monoterpenes hydrocarbons (2.9% and 4.6%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (3.5% and 4.2%) were also present in appreciable amount in the stems and leaves oils of A. fragrantissima, respectively. Apart from these, some other classes of compounds were also found in negligible amount which include, aliphatic hydrocarbons, oxygenated aliphatic hydrocarbons, diterpenoids and aromatics etc. Notably, most of these compounds are present in both the studied oils, however their contents varied significantly.

Out of 85 compounds which were identified in the stems oil, most of the oil is constituted with only few compounds which include, trans-sabinyl acetate (24.0 ± 0.19), trans-sabinol (19.2 ± 0.01), artemisia ketone (16.3 ± 0.74), santolina alcohol (10.4 ± 1.50), and β-sesquiphellandrene (4.8 ± 0.01). Whereas the major chunk of the leaves oil is occupied by trans-sabinyl acetate (20.7 ± 0.00), trans-sabinol (14.9 ± 0.13), artemisia ketone (12.7 ± 0.46), santolina alcohol (10.1 ± 1.30), β-sesquiphellandrene (5.5 ± 0.01), β-thujone (5.1 ± 0.11). The results confirmed that chief chemical components of both (leaves and stems) oils were found to be almost same, however, their contents varied noticeably from each other (Fig. 2). Notably, the dominant volatile (more than 20% of the total oil) of the currently studied A. fragrantissima population seems to be trans-sabinyl acetate which belongs to a class of rare natural products (Radulović et al., 2015). In both stems and leaves oils, trans-sabinyl acetate is found to be the major component demonstrating a presence of 24 and 20% in the studied oils, respectively. According to a study published in 1964, sabinene, sabinol and sabinyl acetate are highly toxic metabolites (Casares, 1964).

Comparison of major components in A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs.
Fig. 2
Comparison of major components in A. fragrantissima leaves and stems EOs.

However, an extensive literature survey about the phytochemical constituents of A. fragrantissima population belonging to the different regions of world has revealed that, none of the study published so far (to the best of our knowledge) has indicated towards the presence of trans-sabinyl acetate as the major component (Table 2).

Table 2 Chemotypes in EO of A. fragrantissima L. grown in various parts of the world.
Country City Chemotype Major components (%) Reference
Egypt Sinai α-Thujone α-Thujone (29.5), santolina alcohol (18.3), artemisia ketone (15.2), β-thujone (10.8), trans-pinocarveol (6.8) and yomogi alcohol (4.4) (El-Shazly et al., 2004)
Allamain α-Thujone α-Thujone (28.4), santolina alcohol (16.1), artemisia ketone (14.8), β-thujone (12.5), pinocarvone (4.7) and yomogi alcohol (3.2). (Almadiy et al., 2016)
Sinai Santolina alcohol Santolina alcohol (18.3), artemisia ketone (15.2), α-thujone (28.4), β-thujone (12.5) and trans-pinocarveol (4.7) (Nenaah, 2014; Nenaah et al., 2015)
Saint Catherine α-Thujone α-Thujone (34.0), trans-2,7-dimethyl-4,6-octadien-2-ol (24.4), 2,5,5-trimethyl-3,6-heptadien-2-ol (8.2), eucalyptol (8.2), 1,5-heptadien-4-one-3,3,6-trimethyl (7.7), artemisia alcohol (3.5) (Zeedan et al., 2014)
Sharkia Santolina alcohol Santolina alcohol (27.2–30.8), α-thujone (11.8–18.9), artemisia ketone (11.8–14.5), lavandulol (0.33–12.5), β-thujone (7.2–8.6), 4(10)-thujen-3-ol (1.6–8.3) and trans-sabinyl acetate (4.7–8.3) (Farouk et al., 2019)
Jordan Mafraq Artemisia ketone Artemisia ketone (19.9), β-sesquiphellandrene (14.6), carvacrol (13.4), α-thujone (12.4) and artemisyl acetate (6.1) (Alsohaili and Al-fawwaz, 2014)
Mafraq β-Thujone β-Thujone (11.3–22.1), trans-sabinyl acetate (0.8–10.2), α-terpineol (3.5–9.4), trans-menth-2-en-1-ol (6.5–13.3) (Alsohaili, 2018)
Amman α-Thujone α-Thujone (13.8–33.8), β-thujone (11.9–24.1), artemisia ketone (3.0–22.0), santolina alcohol (3.5–18.3), santolina triene (1.8–7.3), yomogi alcohol (1.7–5.8) and trans-sabinyl acetate (1.2–5.2) (Al-Jaber et al., 2018)
Saudi Arabia Madinah α-Thujone α-Thujone (14.3–31.6), β-thujone (2.6–24.6), 4-terpineol (3.4–12.9), artemisia ketone (1.3–12.6), santolina alcohol (3.6–8.2) and trans-pinocarveol (0.0–6.5). (Farouk et al., 2019)
Riyadh trans-Sabinyl acetate trans-Sabinyl acetate (20.7–24.0), trans-sabinol (14.9–19.2), artemisia ketone (12.7–16.3), santolina alcohol (10.1–10.4), β-thujone (3.2–5.1) and β-sesquiphellandrene (4.8–5.5) Present study
Yemen Dhamar province Artemisia ketone Artemisia ketone (49.5), camphor (14.7) and α-bisabolol (11.2) (Mansi et al., 2019)

Since, A. fragrantissima plant is highly used in the Saudi Arabia for various medicinal purpose, the biological/toxicological profile of the phytochemical constituents of this plant may provide valuable information. Particularly, the evaluation of the in vitro and in silico toxicity of trans-sabinyl acetate which is rarely dominant in the A. fragrantissima population is highly required which we planned to perform in our future study. Moreover, the FDA (US Food and Drug administration) has included Juniperus sabina in the list of Poisonous Plant Database, due to the presence of trans-sabinol and its derivatives like sabinene, sabinol and sabinyl acetate as the major components (Asili et al., 2010; Severino, 2009). This toxic Juniper species, due to the presence of toxic sabinol derivatives causes congestion of the kidneys with hematuria, congestion of other abdominal viscera, menorrhagia and abortion (Craig et al., 2004; Pages et al., 1996). Besides, the Artemisia absinthium EO rich in trans-sabinyl acetate (45.2% of the total oil) has also shown the toxic effect (Judzentiene et al., 2012).

4

4 Conclusion

Herein, we have studied the phytochemical constituents of stems and leaves EOs of A. fragrantissima collected from central region of Saudi Arabia. The information gathered about the volatile constituents of studied plant is extensively compared with the EOs of A. fragrantissima collected from other regions of the world, including Egypt, Jordon, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The EOs of aerial parts of A. fragrantissima have displayed considerable variation in their chemical compositions when compared to the plants collected from other regions. In this study, the investigated plant has exhibited trans-sabinyl acetate as major component, which is rarely obtained in such a large amount (∼24%) in A. fragrantissima collected from other parts of the world. According to FDA, the plants containing trans-sabinyl acetate have been classified as poisonous plants category; therefore, the application of this particular plant for any medicinal purpose may have adverse effect on health. Besides, the studied plant also contains trans-sabinol (14.9 ± 0.13), artemisia ketone (12.7 ± 0.46), santolina alcohol (10.1 ± 1.30), β-sesquiphellandrene (5.5 ± 0.01), β-thujone (5.1 ± 0.11) in significant amount which have several industrial applications.

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through the research group No (RG-1438-077).

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Appendix A

Supplementary material

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2020.03.004.

Appendix A

Supplementary material

The following are the Supplementary data to this article:

Supplementary Data 1

Supplementary Data 1


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