Essential oil constituents of Artemisia annua during different growth periods at monsoon conditions of subtropical north Indian plains

Artemisia annua plants have so far been cultivated in the subtropical north Indian plains as a winter season crop. In the present experiment, the growth period of the plants was rescheduled so that they matured during the monsoon season. The oil obtained by steam distillation at different stages of growth was analyzed by GC and GUMS to determine the difference in quality and quantity of the oil produced from different plant parts. Twenty-four compounds were identified. Significant changes in the chemical profile were observed due to the change in growing season. Camphor (10.5-44.4%) was found to be the major constituent of oil instead of the usually dominant artemisia. ketone.