Variation in the Essential oil of Artemisia annua L. Apical Shoots at Different Developmental Stages

Artemisia annua is a medicinal annual herb that widely distributed in Asia، Europ، North America، and also is grown in north reagions of Iran. In this study، variation in the quantity and quality of the essential oil of A. annua apical shoots at different developmental stages including vegetative، early flower opening and full flowering stages is reported. The obtained oils by hydrodistilation of dried samples were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The maximum percentage of oil was in full flowering stage. 29، 28 and 28 compounds were identified in the oils of apical shoots in vegetative، early flower opening and full flowering plants، respectively. The major components of the branches essential oils were similar in all stages which included camphor، beta-selinene، 1،8-cineole، α-pinene، caryophyllene oxide، borneol، comphene، Artemisia ketone. Results showed that the essential oil of A. annua apical shoots were rich in monoterpenes. 64. 3%، 63% and 67. 6% of the total identified compounds were monoterpens in vegetative، early flower opening and full flowering stages، respectively. Results also indicated a few variation in kind of compounds، while the percentage of compounds were various relatively.