Phytochemical variation of essential oils of Achillea millefolium L. from different habitats of Iran

Achillea millefolium L. from Asteraceae family is considered as an important medicinal plant in the world and also in our country which has considerable secondary metabolites, especially essential oils. Active substances of this plant are used not only in old and modern medicine but also in hygienic, cosmetic and medical industry. In this research, we studied yield and chemical composition of yarrow essential oils from 15 different ecological regions of Iran. For essential oils isolation, the aerial parts of the plant were collected from habitats, in June and July 2009 at full flowering stage. Samples were dried at room temperature and the essential oils were prepared by hydrodistillation method.The oil yields were calculated on dry weight basis and the analysis of the essential oils was carried out by GC and GC-MS. The results showed that total content of essential oils was variable from 0.32 - 0.72% in different populations. The color of the essential oils varied from pale yellow to dark blue and a close relation was found between composition and color of the essential oils. According to the results, essential oil of Achillea millefolium L. in populations of Iran showed a great diversity with regard to the type of the chemical compositions (high chemical polymorphism). Regarding the major components of the oils, seven chemotypes were identified as follows: 1) 1,8-cineole, 2) p-Cymene, 3) cubenol, 4) chamazulene, 5) chrysanthenone + camphor, 6) Lavandulyl acetate + camphor, and 7) camphor + Limonene.