Abstract
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.
