Chemical composition of volatile organic compounds of Artemisia vulgaris L. (Asteraceae) from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

•The volatile organic compound (VOC) extracted from A.vulgaris were analyzed using two different methods: hydrodistillation and headspace extraction.•The current study is the first report on the composition of VOCs of A. vulgaris using headspace extraction.•The similar cluster of compounds of A. vulgaris were detected after headspace extraction and hydrodistillation, which located between “European” and “Siberian” chemotype.

Plants growing in different climate retain the general direction of the biosynthesis of the volatile organic compound (VOC). The aim of this study was to investigate the VOC composition in Artemisia vulgaris L. growing on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The VOCs were isolated by hydrodistillation or by headspace extraction, and their composition was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). There were 96 VOCs identified in the samples, accounting for 91–97% of the total. Monoterpenes (80.33%) were the main components of VOCs released by headspace extraction. The major components of essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation were monoterpenes (44.49%) and sesquiterpenes (29.98%). The monoterpenes 1,8-cineole, camphor, and α- and β- thujones were the main VOCs detected after both hydrodistillation and headspace extraction. Sesquiterpenes (cis-davanone, germacrene D) also accounted for a significant proportion of compounds in the essential oil. A principal component analysis (PCA) based on the types of components of essential oils of A. vulgaris collected from different countries showed that the moisture conditions at the collection site was the main factor explaining variations in VOC composition, and were located between “European” and “Siberian” chemotype, which indicated that the essential oil profile does not fully reflect zonal climatic features.