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Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses were conducted on essential oil extracted from Saudi Arabian Artemisia judaica L. ( A. judaica ) aerial parts, resulting in the identification of 58 constituents, representing 93.0% of the total oil composition. The oil primarily consisted of monoterpenes (38.6%), sesquiterpenes (14.1%), and other compounds such as ethyl esters and cyclic ketones (40.3%). The main components identified were piperitone (16.5%), ethyl cinnamate (12.9%), and camphor (9.7%). Multivariate statistical analyses (MVAs), including principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) analysis, were employed to compare the chemical makeup of this oil with 20 other A. judaica oils from various regions. The study revealed distinct clusters, highlighting unique chemotypes and geographic variations. Particularly, the oil from the current study demonstrated a specialized chemical profile with significant concentrations of specific compounds, contributing significantly to its distinctiveness. Further cytotoxicity testing on RAW264.7 macrophages suggested that concentrations below 20 μg/mL of A. judaica oil are suitable for future pharmacological investigations. This study provides valuable insights into the chemical diversity, geographic variations, and potential biomedical applications of these essential oils.

Artemisia species are highly important due to their economic significance as medicines, fodder and food. Artemisia cina is an endemic species to Kazakhstan. In folk medicine, water extract of A. cina was used in the treatment of bronchial asthma while the alcohol extract has larvicidal and antituberculosis activity. The most common and most extensively studied compound from this species is the terpenoid santonin. The toxicity of this compound occurs at the doses of 60 mg for children and 200 mg for adults causing among other issues xanthopsia, leading to blindness. Having this in mind, the main idea of this work was to remove santonin from the crude extract and to check if the santonin-free extract would still be of any pharmacological importance. A CO 2 subcritical extract was chromatographed using high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) for the removal of santonin. The santonin-free CO 2 subcritical extract (SFCO 2 E) as well as the isolated compound pectolinarigenin, a flavonoid, were assessed for their pharmacological actions. From the results obtained we can safely suggest that HSCCC is an efficient methodology to completely remove santonin from the CO 2 subcritical extract. It was also possible to observe promising antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities for both SFCO 2 E and pectolinarigenin at concentrations that can justify the production of a phytomedicine with this endemic plant from Kazakhstan.

Santonin, a powerful anthelmintic drug that was formely used to treat worms, is Artemisia cina's main constituent. However, due to its toxicity to humans, it is no longer in use. Kazakhstan is looking to introduce this plant as an anthelmintic drug for veterinary purposes, despite the known toxic properties of the santonin. The objective of this study was to develop a fast and specific method for the identification of santonin and its precise quantitation using HPLC-UV in order to avoid unnecessary intoxication, which is paramount for the development of veterinary medicines. The results obtained showed that santonin appears at around 5.7 minutes in this very reliable HPLC method. The validation of the method was performed by the investigation of parameters such as precision, accuracy, reproducibility and recovery. The method was used to identify and quantify santonin in leaves of A. scoparia, A. foetida, A. gmelinni, A. schrenkiana, A. frigida, A. sublesingiana, A terra-albae, and A. absinthium from Kazakhstan as well as in three different extracts of leaves of A. cina. This study has provided a faster and simpler method for the identification and quantification of this compound in other species of Artemisia of economic importance.

Artemisia cina Berg ex Poljakov, a shrubby plant endemic to the semi-arid areas of Kazakhstan, has as a long history of being used in traditional medicine as an antitumour, antifungal, and anthelmintic agent. In a preliminary study carried out on different methodologies to produce aqueous extracts of A. cina, it was seen that a simple aqueous extract of A. cina (as in an infusion of the plant) had strong antiSARS-CoV-2 activity. In the current study, profiling of this aqueous extract was performed using Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS) while High-Speed Countercurrent Chromatography (HSCCC) and a Sephadex LH-20 column were utilised to isolate and purify the extract in ethyl acetate obtained from the original infusion. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used for structural elucidation. The flavonoid spinacetin 7-O-glucoside was found to be one of the main compounds present in the A. cina infusion. Flavonoids and artemisinin identified by LC-MS in this infusion are hypothesised to be the key compounds behind its anti-SARSCoV-2 activity, however this needs to be further tested and explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artemisia species are highly important due to their economic significance as medicines, fodder and food. Artemisia cina is an endemic species to Kazakhstan. In folk medicine, water extract of A. cina was used in the treatment of bronchial asthma while the alcohol extract has larvicidal and antituberculosis activity. The most common and most extensively studied compound from this species is the terpenoid santonin. The toxicity of this compound occurs at the doses of 60 mg for children and 200 mg for adults causing among other issues xanthopsia, leading to blindness. Having this in mind, the main idea of this work was to remove santonin from the crude extract and to check if the santonin-free extract would still be of any pharmacological importance. A CO2 subcritical extract was chromatographed using high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) for the removal of santonin. The santonin-free CO2 subcritical extract (SFCO2E) as well as the isolated compound pectolinarigenin, a flavonoid, were assessed for their pharmacological actions. From the results obtained we can safely suggest that HSCCC is an efficient methodology to completely remove santonin from the CO2 subcritical extract. It was also possible to observe promising antinociceptive and anti–inflammatory activities for both SFCO2E and pectolinarigenin at concentrations that can justify the production of a phytomedicine with this endemic plant from Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]