Chemical composition of mugwort

The main chemical components of mugwort are volatile oils, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, triterpenes, glucose, tannic acid, potassium chloride, B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and other mineral elements. and other ingredients. Among them, the main active ingredients are volatile oils and flavonoids. Volatile oil has high medicinal value and has anti-asthmatic, antitussive, expectorant, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-allergic and other effects. Mugwort flavonoids have antibacterial, antioxidant, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis, reducing swelling and analgesic and immunomodulating effects. The basis of mugwort’s medicinal effect comes from the chemical substances it contains.

1. Volatile oil

The volatile oil content of the whole mugwort plant is about 0.4% (ml/g). It has also been reported that the extraction yield of volatile oil from mugwort leaves in different origins is 0.29%~1.25% (ml/g), and the content of the processed products is 0.07%~0.15% ( ml/g). The components of volatile oil from mugwort leaves are relatively complex. There are nearly 100 components detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry technology, mainly monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their oxygenated derivatives, as well as a small amount of aldehydes, ketones, phenols, alkanes and benzene series. Compounds such as 1,8-cineole, borneol, camphor, limonene, thujone, phellandrene, etc. There are large differences in the main components and contents of volatile oils in mugwort whole plant and mugwort leaves in different reports, which may be closely related to the plant growth area, environment, climate and material collection time.

2. Flavonoids

Flavonoids are the main chemical components of mugwort. Studies have found that the total flavonoid content of mugwort leaves is as high as 13.42%. In a comparative study of the total flavonoid content of mugwort leaves from another prolific production area, it was found that Hubei mugwort has the highest total flavonoid content. The content of flavonoids varies depending on the collection period. Within a year, the content of flavonoids increases with the growth of mugwort leaves, reaches the maximum content in August, and then slowly decreases. At present, mugwort has been isolated and identified to contain nearly 15 flavonoids such as quercetin, naringenin, kaempferol, luteolin, apigenin, cyanidin, and isozanthin. The flavonoids contained in it have good biological activity, such as 5,6-dihydroxy-7,3′,4′-trimethoxyflavone and 5-hydroxy-6,7,3′,4-tetramethoxyflavone. , quercetin and naringenin, etc., have anti-tumor activity; brown cyanidin has an inhibitory effect on cancer proteins and can be used as an oncogene inhibitor; at the same time, isozanthin has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties effect. Flavonoids are widely present in the plant kingdom and are also active ingredients in many Chinese herbal medicines. Flavonoids have various biological activities such as anti-tumor, blood pressure and lipid lowering, cholesterol lowering, anti-inflammation, analgesia and immune regulation, anti-lipid peroxidation, anti-aging, etc., and have high biological activity. Studying the flavonoids of mugwort leaves and extracting flavonoids from mugwort leaves to make various traditional Chinese medicine preparations and dietary products are expected to prevent and treat various diseases and have broad application and development prospects.

3.Triterpenes

In addition to monoterpenes and their oxygenated compounds found in the volatile oil of mugwort leaves, sesquiterpenes and triterpenes are also found. Triterpenes are a class of compounds with strong biological activity and have anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, blood pressure and cholesterol lowering, and immune regulation functions. The triterpenoids of mugwort leaves mainly include mucillenone, fernone, α- and β-aromatic resin alcohol, acetate of α- and β-aromatic resin alcohol, 3βmethoxy-9β, 19-cyclic wool Steroid-23(E)ene-25,26-diol, uninhibited terpene, etc.

4. Trace elements

Using atomic absorption spectroscopy, it was found that mugwort is rich in trace elements, such as strontium (Sr), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). , iron (Fe), sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), etc. Among them, the contents of zinc, iron, and manganese are relatively high, and the trace element contents of mugwort from different origins are also different. .

5. Tannic acid ingredients

The content and pharmacological effects of tannic acid in mugwort leaves are second only to volatile oil and flavonoids. Tannic acid accounts for a very important part of the material basis for the hemostatic effect of mugwort. In addition, the antipyretic effect of mugwort is also related to the tannic acid component it contains. Although the tannic acid components of mugwort have great pharmacological effects, there are few studies on the structural components, and the main research focuses on the pharmacological effects. Tannins have strong physiological activities, such as lowering blood pressure, inhibiting lipid peroxidation, inhibiting free radicals, and lowering blood lipids. Tannic acid compounds are also called tannins and are divided into three categories based on their chemical structures: hydrolyzed tannic acid, compound tannic acid and condensed tannic acid. The tannic acid in mugwort leaves is catechin tannic acid. Someone in Japan tested catechol tannins and extracted catecholamines from the water extract of mugwort leaves. When quantitatively analyzing the coffee tannins in mugwort and mugwort, they found that mugwort and mugwort contain chlorogenic acid, Korean Thistle acid and its isomers. Taiwan, China uses mugwort leaves to prepare mugwort juice to prevent cerebral hemorrhage. Its function of preventing cerebral hemorrhage mainly depends on a component called kataxin (a tannic acid) contained in mugwort. This component may be catechin ( catechin) or tannic acid components such as catechin, which has a certain effect on bleeding, especially gynecological bleeding.

6. Polysaccharides

Mugwort polysaccharides have good antioxidant capacity and Strong anti-tumor activity and immune-promoting effect. Taking the process conditions as follows: extraction temperature 99°C, extraction time 2.3 hours, water-to-material ratio 20:1, the extraction rate of mugwort polysaccharide through water extraction can reach 3.02%. Studies have found that the hot water extract of mugwort leaves has strong anti-complement activity, and the main active ingredient is acidic polysaccharides, from which AAFⅡb-2 and Ⅱb-3 were identified, which are a type of acidic heteroglucan with a complex sugar chain structure.

7.Other categories

Mugwort also contains protein, vitamins, fats, lutein, chlorophyll, cellulose, alkaloids, chlorogenic acid, flavonoids, saponins, phenols and a large number of unknown factors. It is a plant with high nutritional value. Each kilogram of dry mugwort leaf powder contains 161 grams of crude protein and 18 kinds of amino acids, including phenylalanine, histidine, valine, glutamic acid, leucine, aspartic acid, and isotopic acid related to freshness and flavor. Leucine, lysine, methionine, etc. account for about 75% of the total amino acids, containing 12 grams of crude fat, 55 grams of sugar, 8 grams of vitamin B₂, 3200 mg of vitamin C, and 2.15 grams of calcium. g, 1.2 g of phosphorus, 78 mg of iron, 350,000 IU of carotene, and 12.7 g of cellulose. Japanese scholar Ryoji Sakai and others studied the nutritional value of mugwort and proved that Japanese mugwort (A.vulgaris Linn.var.indicaMaxim) leaves contain 10.13% minerals, 2.59% fat, and protein. 25.8%, it still contains adenine, vitamins B, C, carotene and amylase, but the content is very small. Other studies have shown that wild mugwort contains more iodine than other plants and is easier to absorb barium from the soil. The twigs also contain substances with oxytocin-like effects.