ASSESSMENT OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL FROM BULGARIAN YARROW (ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM L.)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59957/jctm.v61.i1.2026.4Keywords:
antioxidant activity, chemical composition, Achillea millefolium, antimicrobial activity, essential oilAbstract
The present study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and biological activity of yarrow essential oil (Achillea millefolium) from Bulgaria. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) technique, antioxidant activity (ABTS and DPPH methods), antimicrobial activity tests were used. Through an optimized procedure with Ga as an internal standard, thirteen elements - S, Cl, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, and Br - were quantified. The highest concentrations were observed for S, Ca, and Fe (12.35 - 7.26 mg kg⁻¹), followed by Cl, K, Ni, Cu, and Zn (2.23 - 0.53 mg kg-1). The dominant compounds identified by GC-MS analysis are monoterpene hydrocarbons, of which α-pinene (41.29 %) and β-pinene (27.15 %), limonene and p-cymene are predominant. The ABTS method a moderate degree radical neutralization with an IC50 value of 9.15 ±
0.01 µg mL-1, while the DPPH method had a significantly lower IC50 of 205.00 ± 0.03 µg mL-1, indicating selective antioxidant activity depending on the type of radicals. The maximum inhibition observed at 100 µg mL-1 reached 95.13 % with the ABTS method and 29.82 % with the DPPH method. Bulgarian yarrow essential oil shows moderate activity against some Gram-negative bacteria, such as K. pneumoniae. and weak inhibitory activity against other pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. It does not show activity against the molds Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus.
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