Identification of cis- and trans- Melilotoside within an Artemisia annua Tea Infusion

Aims: To identify the major chemical components contained within the Artemisia annua tea infusion, which has been traditionally used to treat fevers and chills.

Study Design: Currently, little chemical data exists on the tea infusion as previous work only focused on LC-MS analysis and although a valuable analytical tool it remains difficult to identify new compounds. Our study therefore employed LC-MS and NMR analysis in order to confirm the identities of the major compounds.

Place and Duration of Study: Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University between Jan 2012 and December 2012.

Methodology: A thorough chemical analysis of the tea infusion was completed using both LC-MS and NMR analyses. Tea infusions were prepared using deionised water and were subjected to LC-MS analysis followed by semi-preparative fractionation and NMR analysis to confirm the identities of the major compounds.

Results: Eleven major compounds were identified including chlorogenic acids, feruloylquinic acids, flavonols, coumarins, of which two compounds, cis- and trans-melilotoside, are new for Artemisia spp.

Conclusion: The melilotosides are known to be active against diarrhoea causing pathogens and therefore might explain the traditional use of A. annua to treat diarrhoea. Future work will focus on the quantification of the melilotosides and the identification of other compounds (major and minor) in the tea infusion.