Scientific desciption and pharmacological activities of Achillea millefolium

Common Names:

in English: bloodwort, carpenter’s weed, common yarrow, fragrant yarrow, milfoil, nosebleed, sanguinary, sneezeweed, thousand-leaf, thousand-seal, western yarrow, yarrow

in Central America: alhucema, cola de ardilla, hierba del soldado, milen rama, milhojas, plumajillo

in North America: achillee, achillee millefeuille, carpenter’s weed, common yarrow, herbe-a-dinde, milfoil, nosebleed, plumajillo, sanguinary, thousand-leaf, woodchuck tail, woundwort, yarrow

in Brazil: mil-folhas

in South Africa: duisend-blaar-achillea

in China: yang shi cao, shi

in India: accilliya, akarkhara, baranjasif, bhut kesi, biranjasaf, biranjasif, brinjasaf, brinjasif, brinjasuf, buiranjasif, chopandiga, chuang, gandana, gandrain, momadnu, puthkanda, rojmaari, rojmari, rooamari, saigum pharanji, saijum pharangi, tukhm gandana

in Japan: nokogiri-so-zoku

in Pakistan: brinjask

Scientific Names (Synonyms)

Achillea millefolium f. albiflora Dabrowska

Achillea millefolium subsp. alpestris (Wimm. & Grab.) Gremli

Achillea millefolium subsp. alpestris (Wimm. & al.) Murr

Achillea millefolium var. alpestris Wimm. & Grab.

Achillea millefolium var. alpicola (Rydb.) Garrett

Achillea millefolium var. arenicola (A.Heller) Nobs

Achillea millefolium var. arenicola (A.Heller) Ferris

Achillea millefolium var. asplenifolia (Vent.) Farw.

Achillea millefolium subsp. asplenifolia (Vent.) J.Weiss

Achillea millefolium subsp. atrotegula B.Boivin

Achillea millefolium subsp. balearica Sennen

Achillea millefolium subsp. borealis (Bong.) Breitung

Achillea millefolium var. borealis (Bong.) Farw.

Achillea millefolium var. californica (Pollard) Jeps.

Achillea millefolium f. californica (Pollard) H.M.Hall

Achillea millefolium subsp. ceretanica (Sennen) Sennen

Achillea millefolium subsp. collina (Becker ex Rchb.) Weiss

Achillea millefolium subsp. collina (Becker ex Rchb.f.) Oborny

Achillea millefolium var. colliniformis Dabrowska

Achillea millefolium subsp. compacta (Lam.) Bonnier & Layens

Achillea millefolium var. crustata Rochel

Achillea millefolium var. dipetala Dabrowska

Achillea millefolium f. discolor B.Boivin

Achillea millefolium var. dissecta Dabrowska

Achillea millefolium var. fusca (Rydb.) G.N.Jones

Achillea millefolium var. gigantea (Pollard) Ferris

Achillea millefolium var. gigantea (Pollard) Nobs

Achillea millefolium f. iserana (Podp.) Hayek

Achillea millefolium var. iserana Podp.

Achillea millefolium var. lanata W.D.J.Koch

Achillea millefolium var. lanulosa (Nutt.) Piper

Achillea millefolium subsp. lanulosa (Nutt.) Piper

Achillea millefolium var. litoralis Ehrenb. ex Nobs

Achillea millefolium var. lobata Dabrowska

Achillea millefolium var. manshurica Kitam.

Achillea millefolium var. maritima Jeps.

Achillea millefolium var. megacephala (Raup) B.Boivin

Achillea millefolium f. millefolium

Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium

Achillea millefolium var. millefolium

Achillea millefolium var. nigrescens E.Mey.

Achillea millefolium subsp. occidentalis (DC.) Hyl.

Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis DC.

Achillea millefolium var. pacifica (Rydb.) G.N.Jones

Achillea millefolium subsp. pannonica (Scheele) Hayek

Achillea millefolium subsp. pannonica (Scheele) Oborny

Achillea millefolium var. puberula (Rydb.) Nobs

Achillea millefolium var. puberula (Rydb.) Ferris

Achillea millefolium f. rhodantha Lepage

Achillea millefolium f. rosea (Desf.) E.L.Rand & Redfield

Achillea millefolium var. rosea (Desf.) Torr. & A.Gray

Achillea millefolium f. roseiflora B.Boivin

Achillea millefolium f. roseoides Breitung

Achillea millefolium f. rubicunda (Farw.) Farw.

Achillea millefolium var. rubra Sadler

Achillea millefolium f. scabra (Host) J.Weiss

Achillea millefolium subsp. serpentini Coste & Soulié

Achillea millefolium subsp. setacea (Waldst. & Kit.) Čelak.

Achillea millefolium var. setacea (W.K.) W.D.J.Koch

Achillea millefolium var. sordida W.D.J.Koch

Achillea millefolium var. spathulata Dabrowska

Achillea millefolium subsp. stricta (Schleich. ex Heimerl) Hyl.

Achillea millefolium subsp. sudetica (Opiz) Oborny

Achillea millefolium subsp. sudetica (Opiz) Weiss

Achillea millefolium subsp. tanacetifolia (Fiori) P.Fourn.

Description:

According to Flora of China

• Herbs, perennial, 40-100 cm tall, with long rhizomes; stems erect, unbranched or branched in upper part, often with short sterile branches at leaf axils above middle, striate, usually white villous.
• Leaves sessile;
• leaf blade lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or sublinear, 5-20 × 1-2.5 cm, (2 or)3-pinnatisect, abaxially densely villous, adaxially densely depressed glandular punctuate; ultimate segments lanceolate to linear, 0.5-1.5 × 0.3-0.5 mm, apex cartilaginous-mucronulate.
• Synflorescence a terminal flat-topped panicle 2-6 cm in diam. Capitula many. Involucres oblong or subovoid, ca. 4 × 3 mm;
• Phyllaries in 3 rows, elliptic or oblong, 1.5-3 × 1-1.3 mm, scarious margin pale yellow or brown; midvein convex. Paleae oblong-elliptic, scarious, abaxially yellow gland-dotted.
• Ray florets 5; lamina white, pink, or violet-red, suborbicular, 1.5-3 × 2-2.5 mm, apex 2- or 3-denticulate.
• Disk florets yellow, tubular, 2.2-3 mm, exterior gland-dotted, apex 5-lobed.
• Achenes greenish, oblong, ca. 2 mm, with white lateral ribs

According to North America

• Perennials, 6–65+ cm (usually rhizomatous, sometimes stoloniferous).
• Stems 1(–4), erect, simple or branched, densely lanate-tomentose to glabrate.
• Leaves petiolate (proximally) or sessile (distally, weakly clasping and gradually reduced); blades oblong or lanceolate, 3.5–35+ cm × 5–35 mm, 1–2-pinnately lobed (ultimate lobes ± lanceolate, often arrayed in multiple planes), faces glabrate to sparsely tomentose or densely lanate.
• Heads 10–100+, in simple or compound, corymbiform arrays.
• Phyllaries 20–30 in ± 3 series, (light green, midribs dark green to yellowish, margins green to light or dark brown) ovate to lanceolate, abaxial faces tomentose.
• Receptacles convex; paleae lanceolate, 1.5–4 mm.
• Ray florets (3–)5–8, pistillate, fertile; corollas white or light pink to deep purple, laminae 1.5–3 × 1.5–3 mm.
• Disc florets 10–20; corollas white to grayish white, 2–4.5 mm.
•  Cypselae 1–2 mm (margins broadly winged)

According to flora of Pakistan

• Erect, up to 1 m tall, basally woody shrublet with obtuse-angled, punctate-glandulose, woolly pilose twigs. Leaves long-petiolate, green, homomorphic, cauline akin to basal, laxly to densely long soft hairy, linear-lanceolate to oblong, up to 20 x 1 – 4 cm, smaller above, punctate-glandulose, 2–3-pinnatisect, rachis 0.4 – 1.5 mm wide; primary segments numerous, linear to linear-lanceolate;
• ultimate segments narrowly linear filiform, 0.2 – 0.5 (-1) mm wide, cartilaginous mucronate.
• Capitula 5 – 6 mm across, up to 150 or sometimes more, on 2 – 5 mm long peduncles, in 5 – 15 cm broad compound corymbs.
• Involucre oblong to ovoid, 4.5 – 5 x 2.5 – 4 mm, basally rotundate, phyllaries oblong to lanceolate, ± acute to obtuse and laciniate, rarely carinate, pink to brownish scarious on margins.
• Paleae whitish membranous, with green midrib, lanceolate, obtuse and ± fimbriate, upwards pilose. Ray-florets 4 – 6, with whitish or pale-white, 3-lobed, 1.5 – 2.5 x 1.5 – 3 mm, reflexed limb.
• Disc-florets 10 – 20, with 2 – 3 mm long, 5-toothed corolla tube.
• Cypselas oblong, ± flattened, c. 2.5 mm long, glaucous-glabrous, epappose.

Chemicals:

Caffeic acid, Eugenol, (-)-Viburnitol, 3-Methylbutanoic acid, Anacyclin, (-)-Betonicine, Homostachydrine, Trigonelline, Stachydrine, 3-O-Caffeoylquinic acid, p-Cymene, Chamazulene, Achillin, Stigmasterol, Apigenin, Salvigenin, 5-Hydroxy-3,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, Casticin, Artemetin, Rutin, Millefin, Achillicin, Chamazulene carboxylic acid, proazulene, Galangin, Quercetin, Cosmosiin

Pharmacological activity

Plants suspected of being a photosensitizer; occupational asthma, dermatitis, skin irritation after contact with plant and exposure to sunlight. Fresh herb chewed for toothache. Whole plant antiseptic, anthelmintic,

insecticidal, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiinflammatory, emmenagogue, antispermatogenic, contraceptive, spasmolytic, hepatoprotective, antiperiodic, estrogenic, abortifacient, antiulcer, antioxidant, cytotoxic, used against skin diseases and infections, intestinal worms, hysteria, epilepsy. Leaves used to treat earaches, diarrhea and hemorrhages; powdered leaves given against stomach complaints; infusion used to bathe swellings; leaves for wounds, cuts, bad bruises, to stop bleeding and act as a disinfectant; leaves and stems for spasmodic pains, an infusion taken for colds; leaves as insect repellent.