Analysis and Comparison Constituent of the Essential Oil from Three Different Species of Achillea L. in the Northern Slope of Tianshan Mountains

The genus Achillea L. (Family: Asteraceae) is a kind of perennial plant, mostly distributed in north western region of China, especially in Tianshan Mountains area of Xinjiang province. Components extracted from their essential oils are widely applied in clinic treatment but their medicinal active compound have not been reported. In this study, essential oils were extracted by steam distillation method from the aerial parts of A. setacea. Waldst. et Kit., A. asiatica Serg., and A. millefolium L., respectively, and the relative percentage of each chemical component was determined by GC/MS method. In all, a total of 33 components in A. setacea Waldst. et Kit., 41 components in A. millefolium L. and 41 components in A. asiatica Serg. were identified. There are 7 components were identified from all Achillea L. Their order of content is in the order: (1) eucalyptol; (2) azulene,7-ethyl-1,4-dimethyl-; (3) caryophyllene; (4) cyclohexene,4-methylene-1-(1-methylethyl); (5) 2-pentanone,4-hydroxy-4-methyl-; (6) 1,4-cyclohexadiene,1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-; (7) acetic acid,1,7,7-trimethyl-bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl ester. Among the volume of total essential oil components contained in these three plants, the highest content is eucalyptol, ranging from 7 to 11%. Interestingly, these three Achillea L. plants also contain their high specific components, such as terpenoids, eucalyptols, pinenes, and azulene, 7-ethyl-1,4-dimethyl-. Our results are beneficial to the identification of essential oil of the genus Achillea L.