Phytochemical and Antioxidant Properties ofAchillea Millefoliumfrom the Eastern Region of Iran

The aim of present study was to evaluation the antioxidant potential of Achillea millefolium on the basis of the chemical compositions of oils obtained by hydrodistillation. In the case of Achillea millefolium, 24 compounds were identified representing the 83.76% of the total oil. The major constituents of the oil were described as α-pinene (10.12%), camphene (4.23%), limonene (5%), borneol (5%), γ-terpinene (8%), carvone (5%), bornyl acetate (2.43%), thymol (15.32%), and carvacrol (20.43%). The oils were also subjected to screening for their possible antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assays. Thymol (12.0 ± 0.1 µg/mL) and carvacrol (14.43 ± 0.0 µg/mL) showed appreciable antioxidant activity in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl test. Antioxidant activity guided fractionation of the oil was carried out by The TLC-bioautography screening and fractionation resulted in the separation of the main antioxidant compound which were identified as thymol (65%) and carvacrol (25%).