Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oil Isolated From a Himalayan High‐Altitude Aromatic Herb <i>Artemisia brevifolia</i>

ABSTRACT Artemisia brevifolia Wall. ex DC commonly known as short‐leaved wormwood is found specifically in the high‐altitude cold desert areas of the Indian Himalayan Region. The distinctive feature of this species is its pale‐green coloured leaves, which are highly aromatic in nature. Extracted essential oil of A. brevifolia was found to be dark yellow in colour with a strong smell, and the content reached up to 86.67 ± 11.54 μL / 80 g of dried material. A total of 16 compounds were found to be present in the essential oil, which includes eucalyptol as the main component, the content of which reached up to 332.26 ± 30.04 μg/mL of essential oil when quantified by GC‐FID. The internal pool of volatile analysis revealed a total of 26 compounds contributing to the aroma of this plant. The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil was also measured using three different systems, viz. β ‐carotene‐linoleic acid bleaching assay, reducing power assay, and DPPH assay. Enzyme inhibitory properties of A. brevifolia essential oil against tyrosinase and elastase were studied to explore its use as an anti‐ageing product. Histological studies were also conducted to understand the anatomical features of A. brevifolia aerial parts that accumulate a high quantity of essential oil. In addition, simple ethanol‐based deodorants in mixture with essential oil of different plants were prepared and evaluated by 20 individuals to obtain an acceptability score. The overall study with A. brevifolia essential oil was proven to be a potential candidate for many applications.