Sesquiterpenes from Achillea pannonica Scheele

Area of Science:

• Phytochemistry
• Natural Product Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry

Background:

• Achillea pannonica Scheele is a plant species known for its potential medicinal properties.
• Sesquiterpenes are a diverse class of organic compounds with various biological activities.
• Phytochemical investigations are crucial for discovering new bioactive molecules.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and identify sesquiterpenes from the dichloromethane extract of Achillea pannonica flowerheads.
• To characterize the chemical structures of the isolated compounds.
• To report novel compounds and expand the knowledge of Achillea pannonica's chemical constituents.

Main Methods:

• Extraction of plant material using dichloromethane.
• Isolation of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation using Mass Spectrometry (MS), Infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
• Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Fourier Transform Infrared (GC-FTIR) for essential oil analysis.

Main Results:

• Three sesquiterpenes were isolated and identified: 11,13-dehydrodesacetylmatricarin, (6E)-5-tigloxy-9-hydroxynerolidol, and alpha-longipin-2-en-1-one.
• The structure of (6E)-5-tigloxy-9-hydroxynerolidol was reported for the first time.
• Spathulenol was identified in the essential oil of the plant.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified known and a novel sesquiterpene from Achillea pannonica.
• The findings contribute to the understanding of the phytochemical profile of Achillea pannonica.
• Further research may explore the biological activities of these isolated compounds.