Study of Growth, Essential Oil Percentage and Essential Oil Component of Achilleaspp Under Shoushtar Climatic Condition in Fall Planting

Introduction: Spices and herbs are part of daily food intake in many regions of the world. They have been used as natural sources of flavorings and preservatives. Yarrow (Achillea spp.) belongs to Asteraceae family and more than 100 species have been recognized in this genus. This plantis reportedto be a diaphoretic, astringent, tonic, stimulant and mild aromatic plant. It contains isovaleric acid, salicylic acid, asparagin, sterols, flavonoids, bitters, tannins, and coumarins. The plant also has a long history as a powerful 'healing herb' used topically for wounds, cuts and abrasions. The genus name Achillea is derived from the mythical Greek character, Achilles. Action is also reflected in some of the common names mentioned below, such as staunchweed and soldier's woundwort. The genus Achillea is a well-known medicinal plant, widely used in folk medicine against gastrointestinal disorders such as lack of appetite. This plant is native to Europe and Western Asia but isalso found in Australia, New Zealand and North America. Nineteen species of Achillea have been recognized in Iran distributed in different geographical and ecological regions. Achillea spp. are diaphoretic, astringent, tonic, stimulant and mild aromatic. Major components in Achillea spp. essential oil are sabinene, 1,8-cineole, camphor, α-pinene, β-pinene, borneol and bornyl acetate. The aim of this work is to investigate growth, essential oil yield and chemical composition of essential oils of A. eriophora, A. millefolium, A. biebersteinii and A. tenuifolia. Material and Methods: This study investigated the growth and essential oil yield of four Achillea species in the North of Khuzestan situation,Shoushtar, in2008-2010. An experiment was conducted in combined analysis based on complete block design with 4 replicates. Achillea species examined concluded Achillea eriophora, A. millefolium, A. biebersteinii and A. nobilis. Seedling establishment, essential oil percentage andyield, flowering period and shoot dry weight was measured during the experiment. The clevenger apparatus was used to extract oils by hydro-distillation of leaf and head branches for 3 hours according to the method described in the British Pharmacopeia. For identification of components, Agilent gas chromatography model 6890 N, was equipped with MSD model 5973 N and fused with the silica capillary column (HP-5MS, 30m- 0.25mm) were used for qualitative and quantitative analysis.Analysis of variance was employed for statistical analysis of the data using a MSTATC software. The mean values were compared with the Duncan test. Results and Discussion: The results showed that year, species and their interaction (year×species) had significant (