Comparative study of different hexane extracts from Algerian Artemisia absinthium and Artemisia herba-alba: GC-MS profile, artemisinin content, and antioxidant properties

The genus Artemisia belongs to the Asteraceae family, known for its many pharmacological properties. This study focuses on the chemical characterization of two Algerian species: Artemisia absinthium (AA) and Artemisia herba-alba (AHA). Samples from eight different stations were subjected to four extraction procedures using hexane as solvent: maceration, reflux, Soxhlet, and ultrasound. After determining the yield, total phenolics were quantified in the 32 samples. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by three tests (i.e. TAC, DPPH, and β-Carotene assays). The results showed that the reflux method was able to isolate low levels of phenols but presented a better antioxidant activity, compared to the other extraction protocols. Regarding the two plant species, A. absinthium revealed a higher antioxidant power. GC–MS analysis led us to identify a total of 68 chemical constituents from all hexane samples of the two species. Extracts were mainly dominated by fatty acids (FAs), monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids, without any significant variability based on the applied method. HPLC-DAD analysis proved that the highest content in artemisinin was present in A. absinthium extracts obtained by Soxhlet, with an amount estimated at 15.09 ± 0.62 µg per mg of plant material, followed by ultrasound extraction.