Antioxidant potential of Artemisia argentea L'Her alcoholic extract and its relation with the phenolic composition

Artemisia argentea. known as losna or Madeira wormwood is used as aperitif drink with tonic effects. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method (RP-HPLC) coupled with diode-array detection (DAD) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) was used for the separation/characterization of phenolic compounds in A. argentea. A wide variety of components was found, mainly flavonoids (O- and C-glycosylated) and hydroxycinnamic acids derivatives. Five saponins, an uncommon type of compound in Artemisia species, were reported. Quantification of caffeoylquinic acids (CQA) was performed and 5-O-CQA and 3,5-O-diCQA were the major compounds (ca. 300 mg/100 g dried plant). Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were established and four assays were used to measure the antioxidant capacity of the plant, revealing a high radical scavenging capacity and a weak reducing potential. Unlike other Artemisia subspecies, A. argentea is totally free of harmful components such as thujene, thujone or artemisia ketone. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.