Molecular Insights Into the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Artemisia Annua L. As Revealed by Insertional Polymorphisms

BackgroundRetrotransposons-RTNs, are main source of variations in plant genomes that copying and pasting themselves into different transposon and work by changing RNA back into DNA via reverse transcription. For that reason, they are largely utilized in plants as optimum molecular markers to determine DNA fingerprinting, genetic mapping, and genetic variability. ResultsInter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphisms (IRAPs) were used to measure genetic variability and structure in a collection of 118 sweet wormwood (A. annua) accessions identifying and amplifying 849 loci using 32 IRAP primers, derived from Rosaceae, Gramineae, and Solanaceae retroelements. Single IRAP primer Tnt1.OL16 based on RTN produced the maximum count of markers. Percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL), mean expected heterozygosity (He), number of effective alleles (Ne) and information index (I) of Shannon, in the studied collection were 95.80%, 0.30, 1.48 and 0.46, in the same order. AMOVA analysis showed nonexistence of significant genetic structures during structure analysis, however, the 4 populations had three clusters based on the NJ dendrogram that depicted a relatively higher level of genetic variation within each population. These clusters were approximately congruent with corresponding geographical distributions. ConclusionsIn conclusion, low genetic diversity of Iranian Sweet wormwood was detected that could be reduced through introduction of appropriate exotic or improved germplasm to reduce the effects of inbreeding depression.

Extraction of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua L.) by supercritical carbon dioxide

In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide was applied for the extraction of Artemisia annua L. Moreover, the impact of different parameters of supercritical extraction on total yield was investigated and the obtained yields were compared to the ones obtained by conventional procedures, hydrodistillation and Soxhlet extraction. Supercritical fluid extraction at 40 °C and different pressures (100, 200, and 300 bar) resulted in extraction yields that were in the 2.23-5.18 % range, while the yields at 60 °C and the same pressures were in the range 2.43-3.35 %. The yields obtained by the Soxhlet extraction and hydrodistillation were 10.28 % and 0.10 %, respectively. Although supercritical fluid extraction is inferior to Soxhlet extraction in terms of the recovery of lipophilic components of A. annua, the Soxhlet extraction is not the method of choice for obtaining sweet wormwood extracts due to its numerous disadvantages that include the use of toxic solvents, extended extraction time, health safety of the product, the need for further processing, the impossibility of adjusting the selectivity and thus the composition of the product.

Artemisinin Story from the Balkans

The isolation is reported of artemisinin (qinghaosu), a drug remarkably effective against malaria, from the aerial parts of Artemisia annua L. (sweet wormwood) at the Department of Chemistry, University of Belgrade (now Faculty of Chemistry), Serbia by the end of 1970, almost two years before the isolation of the same compound in China.