Screening of yarrow (Achillea millefolium Agg.) populations in Serbia for yield components and essential oil composition

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium Agg.) is well-known medicinal plant, with a wide spectrum of applications and it is one of the most frequently used plant drug in Serbia. In this study, we have observed cultivation and essential oil chemical properties of 28 A. millefolium populations collected from Serbian sites. In the second vegetation, the yield of useful part (upper 15 cm) ranged from 925 - 3630 kg/ha, while the yield of essential oil ranged from 0.40 - 0.82%. The most dominant compounds in monoterpene fraction were β-pinene (max. 36.3%), sabinene (max. 35.7%), 1,8-cineol (max. 26.6%) and borneol (max. 20.2%), while in the sesquiterpene fraction the most abundant compounds were trans-caryophyllene (max. 18.6%) and lavandulyl acetate (max. 18.1%). Among aromatic compounds, the most abundant was chamazulene (max. 29.1%). This screening has shown that only 10 populations out of 28 satisfied official quality requirement of 0.02% of chamazulene in the dried drug. Four populations had higher yield than commercial variety ProA, while one of them had even higher level of chamazulene.