Ecological factors, ethno pharmacology and essential oil composition of Tanacetum parthenium L. in Golestan Province

Tanacetum parthenium L. is one of the most important medicinal herbs that grows wild and wide distribution near the river, road and sunny positions in forest and mountainous rangelands in South East of Golestan Province, especially in 800-1250m above the sea level in medium soil texture, neutral PH and organic carbon percent with medium to high. In addition to its ecological and ethnopharmacological needs essential oil composition of this plant were also studied. Artemisia annua, Artemisia absintium, Mentha longifolia, Mentha aquatica, Thymus carmanicus, Cuminum cyminum, Echium amoenum, and Salix alba for sedative of headache and menstrual pain, cold, fever, inflammation and healing wound. Flowering aerial parts of this plant were collected in July 2006 in 1100m of Ziarat mountainous region, 6km far from Gorgan city in Golestan province. The essential oil of different parts of plant obtained by water distillation and analyzed by GC/MS. Camphor (53.5%), -pinene (17.7%) and -bisabolol oxide B (10.5%) were the major components of flower oil. But in leaf oil, camphor (38.9%), -pinene (8.4%), germacrene D (6.3%) and -terpinene (8.2%) were the main components. The results confirm use of this plant by the rural healers for curing many types of the sedative pain and other ailments.