Essential Oil of<i>Artemisia absinthium</i>L. from the Spanish Pyrenees

Abstract

Abstract Several essential oils obtained from Artemisia absinthium L. from four localities in the Spanish Pyrenees were analyzed by GC/MS. Two chemotypes were detected; a cis-epoxyocimene type (with more than 50% of this compound) which was predominant in all the populations, and a cis-epoxyocimene + chrysanthenyl acetate type (with 25–65% of cis-epoxyocimene and 15–50% of chrysanthenyl acetate). The distribution of these chemotypes had no relation with the altitude of the samples. None of the plants tested contained thujone, a fact which could be very interesting for the food industry.