Open Access

ARTICLE

Hydroalcoholic Extracts of Achillea spp. from Greece: A Study on Phenolic Content and Their Biological Activities

Olga S. Tsiftsoglou^1,*, Vladimir Mihailovic², Nikola Sreckovic², Jelena S. Katanic Stankovic³, Kyriakos Michail Dimitriadis¹, Michalis K. Stefanakis⁴, Diamanto Lazari¹

1 Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, Radoja Domanovića 12, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia
3 Department of Science, Institute for Information Technologies, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia
4 Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes, Heraklion, 71003, Greece

* Corresponding Author: Olga S. Tsiftsoglou. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Plant Responses and Adaptations to Environmental Stresses)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2026, 95(1), 3 https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2026.075566

Received 04 November 2025; Accepted 26 December 2025; Issue published 30 January 2026

Abstract

Achillea species are known for their healing properties since ancient times. There is extensive literature on their pharmacological action due to their bioactive compounds. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of hydroalcoholic extracts from the inflorescences and leaves of the species Achillea crithmifolia Waldst. and Kit., A. grandifolia Friv. and A. millefolium L. The phytochemical profiles of all extracts were evaluated both by NMR spectroscopy and LC-MS analysis, and the results were consistent with the spectrophotometrically determined total phenolic (TP: 125.42–191.98 mg/g) and total flavonoid (TF: 47.34–180.02 mg/g) contents. All the extracts were tested for their antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS^•+ radical scavenging assay, as well as ferrous ion chelating ability and reducing power tests. All the extracts showed moderate antioxidant activity, compared to the reference substance BHT. Additionally, the antibacterial activity of the extracts was evaluated against major food-borne pathogens, showing moderate antimicrobial effects.

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Keywords

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