Chemical composition and biological activity of essential oils from Artemisia copa Phil. var. copa (Asteraceae) and Aloysia deserticola (Phil.) Lu-Irving & O’Leary (Verbenaceae), used in the Chilean Atacama’s Taira Community (Antofagasta, Chile)

ABSTRACTTwo aromatic species from the Atacama people traditional medicine, Aloysia deserticola (Phil.) Lu-Irving & O’Leary and Artemisia copa Phil. var. copa, from Antofagasta area (North of Chile) were investigated for their essential oils (EO) chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. EO of A deserticola collected in four different spots unexpectedly contained α-thujone as the major compound instead of the β-isomer described for other Chilean and Bolivian specimens in the literature. For EO of Artemisia copa var. copa, chrysanthenone was the main compound whereas β-thujone was identified in a Bolivian specimen. These EO exerted no significant antibacterial activity on a panel of forty-four strains, whereas notable inhibition of xanthine oxidase activity was observed with A. deserticola essential oil.