Unveiling the Phytochemical Profile and Biological Potential of Five Artemisia Species

The Artemisia L. genus comprises over 500 species with important medicinal and economic attributes. Our study aimed at providing a comprehensive metabolite profiling and bioactivity assessment of five Artemisia species collected from northeastern Romania (A. absinthium L., A. annua L., A. austriaca Jacq., A. pontica L. and A. vulgaris L.). Liquid chromatography-tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS) analysis of methanol and chloroform extracts obtained from the roots and aerial parts of the plants led to the identification of 15 phenolic acids (mostly hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives), 26 flavonoids (poly-hydroxylated/poly-methoxylated flavone derivatives, present only in the aerial parts), 14 sesquiterpene lactones, 3 coumarins, 1 lignan and 7 fatty acids. Clustered image map (CIM) analysis of the phytochemical profiles revealed that A. annua was similar to A. absinthium and that A. pontica was similar to A. austriaca, whereas A. vulgaris represented a cluster of its own. Correlated with their total phenolic contents, the methanol extracts from both parts of the plants showed the highest antioxidant effects, as assessed by the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging, CUPRAC, FRAP and total antioxidant capacity methods. Artemisia extracts proved to be promising sources of enzyme inhibitory agents, with the methanol aerial part extracts being the most active samples against acetylcholinesterase and glucosidase. All Artemisia samples displayed good antibacterial effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra, with MIC values of 64-256 mg/L. In conclusion, the investigated Artemisia species proved to be rich sources of bioactives endowed with antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory and anti-mycobacterial properties.