Phytochemical analysis of Achillea ligustica All. from Lipari Island (Aeolian Islands).

A complete chemical investigation of Achillea ligustica All. growing at Lipari (Aeolian Island, Sicily) has been carried out. Seventeen metabolites have been isolated and characterised from dichloromethane and methanol extracts of flowers and aerial parts, and GC/MS analyses of petroleum ether extracts was carried out, revealing a composition in sesquiterpenoids similar to those reported for populations from Greece, Sicily and Algeria, showing the presence of (3RS,6RS)-2,6-dimethyl-1,7-octadiene-3,6-diol (1), 2,6-dimethyl-octa-3(E),7-diene-2,6-diol (2), iso-seco-tanapartholide (3) from DCM fraction. In addition from the methanolic extract of the aerial parts, peculiar flavonoid glucuronides have been isolated: i.e. apigenin-7-O-glucuronide (12) and quercetin 3-O-glucuronide (14). These metabolites have been reported in this species for the first time. The isolated flavonoids were previously recognised in several species of this complex genus and for this reason seems to be highly retained secondary metabolites of importance from the chemotaxonomic point of view.