Chemical characterization of Anthemis parlatoreana fresh and dried aerial parts by GC and LC chromatographic techniques and evaluation of the antioxidant properties

Anthemis partatoreana was collected in the north west coast of Sicily. Fresh and dried aerial parts were subjected to distillation procedure for the extraction and isolation of essential oils. In both fresh and dried samples, the most abundant chemical classes were ketones and esters, represented to a greater extent by beta-thujone and beta-artemisia acetate, respectively. In dried vegetable material, a high content of alpha-pinene and delta 3-carene was also registered. Aqueous, methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of aerial parts were also investigated in terms of polyphenolic content and antioxidant potential. All the extracts tested showed a quite different quali-quantitative profile and in terms of chemical classes, most of compounds belonged to the hydroxycinnamic class (15 compounds) followed by flavonoid one (11 compounds); the rest was comprised of 2 sequiterpenoids, 2 organic acids and 1 hydroxybenzoic acid derivative. Further, the dried methanolic followed by the dried aqueous extracts revealed the best quenching ability, whereas concerning iron chelating capacity, although all of them showed a marked capacity to disrupt or inhibit the formation of iron (11)-Ferrozine complex, a slight difference was observed between the dried and the fresh ones, since the former have a slightly higher chelating power than the latter.

Automated summary

Anthemis partatoreana, a plant found in the north west coast of Sicily, was analyzed for its chemical composition and antioxidant potential. The most abundant chemical classes in both fresh and dried samples were ketones and esters, with beta-thujone and beta-artemisia acetate as the main compounds. The extracts showed a diverse profile in terms of polyphenolic content, with hydroxycinnamic and flavonoid compounds being the most prominent. The dried methanolic and dried aqueous extracts exhibited the highest quenching ability. However, a slight difference in iron chelating capacity was observed between dried and fresh samples, with the former showing slightly higher power.