OBJECTIVETo analyze the chemical composition and compare acute hepatotoxicity of essential oils extracted from argy wormwood leaf in Guangdong by four different methods.

METHODFour extraction methods, including hydrodistillation extraction, supercritical fluid CO2 extraction, petroleum ether ultrasonic extraction and petroleum ether microwave extraction, were employed to prepare essential oil from argy wormwood leaf in Guangdong. The products were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using GC-MS and GC-FID. Sixty mice were divided into 5 groups according to different essential oils and took the same dose orally, then after 5 hours, hepatic functional parameters in serum were detected such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and so on, and morphologic change of hepatic tissues was observed.

RESULTThe extraction rate of the four methods and identified compounds was 1.02%, 80 (hydrodistillation extraction), 2.46%, 56 (supercritical fluid CO2 extraction), 3.17%, 45 (petroleum ether ultrasonic extraction) and 3.32%, 78 (petroleum ether microwave extraction) respectively. Totally 153 compounds were identified from those essential oils. Compared with that of the control group, some hepatic functional parameters of hydrodistillation and supercritical fluid CO2 extraction groups rose significantly (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), and hepatic tissues of hydrodistillation group were damaged significantly.

CONCLUSIONThe essential oils extracted from argy wormwood leaf by different methods may have not only different chemical composition, but also different acute hepatotoxicity, and monoterpenes and benzenes in the essential oils might induce acute hepatotoxicity.