Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils from the Leaves and Flowers of Two Achillea species from Iran

The aerial parts of wild Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch and A. kellalensis Boiss. & Hausskn. (Asteraceae family) were collected from Southwestern Iran provinces. The essential oils obtained by steam distillation from fine powder of the leaves and flowers of the two Achillea species have been analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The oil yield varied of 0.23 to 0.68% dry matter. The variations in chemical compositions from the flowers and leaves are important between plant populations. A total of 46 constituents were identified. The major constituents of the essential oils of A. wilhelmsii collected from the Ben and Natanz regions were lavandulyl acetate (t - 26.2%), chrysanthenone (t - 18.3%), 1,8-cineole (5.5 - 17.2%), linalool (0.8 - 16.1%), camphor (0.5 - 16.6%), borneol (t - 6.5%), -pinene (2.7 - 6.5%) and lavandulol (t - 6.0%), while the essential oils of A. kellalensis from the Kallar region were chamazulene (49.0 52.6%), -bisabolol (20.5-25.1%), -myrcene (2.8 - 3.7%), and pinene (1.6 - 4.5%). Although, the essential oils from the flowers and leaves of A. kellalensis were characterized by high level of oxygenated sesquiterpenes, those of A. wilhelmsii were characterized by high level of oxygenated monoterpenes.