Analysis of artemisinin and related sesquiterpenoids from artemisia annua L. by combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

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Abstract
The sesquiterpenoid artemisinin (3) and its biosynthetic precursors arteannuic acid (1), arteannuin B (2) and artemisitene (4) can be separated and identified by combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry both as a mixture of reference standards as well as in extracts of Artemisia annua L. From this study a generally applicable gas chromatographic method has been developed for the analysis of these sesquiterpenoids in A. annua. Analysis of plant parts revealed that the highest sesquiterpenoid concentrations were present in the leaves, buds and small green stems, while the main stem contained only small amounts. Low levels of arteannuic acid and arteannuin B were present in the side‐roots. No sesquiterpenoids could be detected in the main root and none of the plant parts accumulated detectable quantities of artemisitene.