Comparative study of essential oil of three Achillea species from Serbia

The composition of the essential oils from herbs of Achillea alexandri-regis, A. holosericea and A. lingulata was analyzed by GC and GUMS. The predominant compounds in the oil of A. alexandri-regis were: alpha-pinene (14.4-15.7%), isopinocamphone (5.4-23.5%), alpha-phellandrene epoxide (5.0-19.0%), borneol (3.6-7.7%) and spathulenol (1.4-9.7%). The major components in the herb oil of A. holosericea were: borneol (17.3-18.1%), camphor (9.7-15.1%). terpinen-4-ol (6.3-11.1%) and camphene (5.7-7.2%). The presence of borneol (23.040.7%), beta-thujone (5.5-7.6%). bornyl acetate (3.5-7.8%) and sabinene (1.7-6.7%) was characteristic of A. lingulata herb oils. The presence of borneol in high concentration was a connecting property for the oil of all three investigated Achillea species, especially for A. lingulata and A. holosericea. On the other side, the low concentration (0.2%) of camphor was characteristic of the investigated samples of A. alexandri-regis and A. lingulata.