Multidimensional quality evaluation of Artemisia argyi as a medicinal crop: Phenotypic traits, chemical composition, and pharmacodynamic activity of wild and cultivated populations

As a globally known medicinal crop, Artemisia argyi ( A. argyi ) is widely applied as industrial raw materials for pharmaceutical industries, with huge economic value. At present, commercial A. argyi comes from both wild and cultivated A. argyi . The quality of wild and cultivated A. argyi has gained a lot of attention. In this study, the comparison of phenotypic characteristics in 86 samples firstly showed that the leaves of cultivated A. argyi were 67.04 % larger and 24.28 % thicker than the wild A. argyi . Then, the integration of High-performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC) analysis with chemometrics demonstrated that cultivated A. argyi contained 39.59 % higher average levels of six key flavonoids and 16.98 % greater average contents of six phenolic acids compared to wild A. argyi . Furthermore, the Griess method assessment revealed that the inhibition of NO production in cultivated A. argyi was 15 % stronger by that in wild A. argyi at 10 and 20 μg/mL, confirming better anti-inflammatory efficacy of cultivated A. argyi . Meanwhile, the results of untargeted metabolomics analysis revealed nine differential volatile components. Cultivated A. argyi had 31.40 % lower oil yield but held advantages in the average contents of borneol and camphor. Importantly, the anti-bacterial activity of cultivated A. argyi is as good as the wild A. argyi . Hence, multidimensional evaluation based on phenotypic traits, chemometrics analysis, and pharmacodynamic activity demonstrated the quality differences between wild and cultivated A. argyi , and cultivated A. argyi exhibited superior phenotypic characteristics, higher accumulation of flavonoids and phenolic acids, and enhanced anti-inflammatory activity compared to wild A. argyi. • A systematic quality evaluation of medicinal crop A. argyi . • Multidimensional analysis was established to identify wild and cultivated A. argyi . • The leaves of cultivated A. argyi were more fleshy and thicker than wild A. argyi . • Cultivated A. argyi contained more flavonoids and phenolic acids, showing better anti-inflammatory activity. • Cultivated A. argyi was rich in borneol, camphor, etc., and exhibited equivalent anti-bacterial activity with wild A. argyi .