Phytochemical Characterization of Achillea grandifolia Friv. Essential Oil and Its Potent Against Oxidative Damage, Acetylcholinesterase and a-Amylase

The essential oil of Achillea grandifolia Friv. was obtained by hydrodistillation of aerial parts of the plant and analyzed with GC-FID and GC/MS techniques. The oil comprised mostly by the oxygenated monoterpenes (76.2 %) with a-terpinyl acetate (54.1 %) as main constituent. The monoterpene hydrocarbons were the second major compound group with p-cymene (17.7 %) as the main representative. The essential oil showed free radical scavenging activity against DPPH• radicals (Inh. 52 %) and ABTS+• cation radicals (TEAC 0.62 mM). The oil demonstrated hypoglycemic activity via inhibition of a-amylase (IC50 0.15 mg/mL). The effect of the oil on neurodegenerative disease was expressed via inhibition of AChE and found to be > 82 % of inhibition (an IC50 of 1.77 mg/mL).