Antioxidant activities and essential oil composition of Herba Artemisiae Scopariae from China

The essential oil in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Herba Artemisiae Scopariae (HAC) grown in China was obtained by hydrodistillation and studied by GC and GC-MS. Twenty compounds were identified representing 96.6% of the essential oil, of which the most prominent were n-hexadecanoic acid (33.1%), caryophyllene oxide (19.1%) and spathulenol (9.9%). The antioxidant activity of the essential oil (25-400 µg/ml) of HAC was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The essential oil of HAC exhibited a strong antioxidant activity, which possess a good potential for use in the food and pharmaceutical industry.