Achillea Millefolium Extract is derived from the flowers and leaves of the Achillea millefolium plant, commonly known as yarrow. This herbal extract is valued for its various therapeutic and cosmetic benefits, including anti-inflammatory, astringent, and wound-healing properties. It is commonly used in skincare products for its ability to soothe and enhance the skin.

Chemical Composition and Structure:

Achillea Millefolium Extract contains:

Flavonoids: Such as apigenin and luteolin, which provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Essential Oils: Including camphor, borneol, and cineole, which contribute to the extract's soothing and antimicrobial properties.

Tannins: These compounds offer astringent effects and contribute to the extract’s ability to tighten and tone the skin.

Saponins: These compounds help in enhancing the absorption of other active ingredients and may offer additional skin benefits.

Physical Properties:

• Color: Light to dark green or brownish-green, depending on the concentration.
• Consistency: Liquid to viscous.
• Aroma: Herbal, with hints of camphor or mint.
• Solubility: Soluble in water and alcohol; may be used in aqueous and alcoholic formulations.

Production Process:

1. Harvesting: Achillea millefolium flowers and leaves are harvested, typically during the blooming season when the bioactive compounds are at their peak.
2. Extraction: The plant material is processed using extraction methods such as maceration, percolation, or steam distillation to obtain the active compounds.
3. Filtration: The extract is filtered to remove any solid residues.
4. Concentration: The extract may be concentrated to enhance the potency of the active ingredients.
5. Quality Control: The final product is tested for purity, potency, and efficacy to ensure it meets cosmetic standards.

Applications:

• Cosmetics: Used in skincare products such as creams, serums, and masks for its anti-inflammatory, soothing, and astringent properties. It helps in calming irritated skin, reducing redness, and improving overall skin texture.

INCI Functions:

Anti-sebum.  Controls and reduces emissions from the sebaceous glands, which are responsible for greasy, enlarged pores in the skin, where it occurs, particularly on the forehead, cheeks, nose and hair. Adjuvant in the treatment of acne.

Cleansing agent. Ingredient that cleanses skin without exploiting the surface-active properties that produce a lowering of the surface tension of the stratum corneum. 

Fragrance. It plays a very important role in the formulation of cosmetic products as it provides the possibility of enhancing, masking or adding fragrance to the final product, increasing its marketability. It is able to create a perceptible pleasant odour, masking a bad smell. The consumer always expects to find a pleasant or distinctive scent in a cosmetic product. 

Refreshing. This ingredient is included in cosmetic products to provide a refreshing or toning sensation to the skin and can also help relieve irritation or redness.

Skin conditioning agent. It is the mainstay of topical skin treatment as it has the function of restoring, increasing or improving skin tolerance to external factors, including melanocyte tolerance. The most important function of the conditioning agent is to prevent skin dehydration, but the subject is rather complex and involves emollients and humectants that can be added in the formulation.

Soothing. Ingredient with the task of restoring moisture to the skin, helping in the healing process of irritation, inflammation and skin disorders.

Tonic. This product is used to treat the hair when the scalp is clean or after shampooing. It stimulates hair growth, revitalises the scalp for healthy hair growth and reduces hair loss. It provides a feeling of well-being on skin and hair.

CAS  84082-83-7

EC number 282-030-6

• Personal Care: Incorporated into products like body lotions and shampoos to enhance skin and scalp health.
• Medical Applications: May be used in topical treatments for its wound-healing and anti-inflammatory effects, supporting skin repair and reducing inflammation.

Environmental and Safety Considerations:

Achillea Millefolium Extract is generally considered safe for use in cosmetics and personal care products. It is important to ensure that the extraction process is sustainable and that the final product is tested for potential allergens or irritants. Using sustainably sourced plant material helps minimize environmental impact.

Studies

The main components found in its extract are the volatile camphor oils, linalool and others and the flavonoids apigenin, rutin, luteolin (1).

Yarrow extracts have demonstrated a clear anti-inflammatory property with a positive impact on skin pH and moisture content and pharmacological activity against gastric ulcers (2). 

For more information:

Yarrow studies

References_______________________________________________________________________

(1) Orav A, Arak E, Raal A. Phytochemical analysis of the essential oil of Achillea millefolium L. from various European Countries. Natural product research. 2006;20:1082–1088.

Abstract. Variations in the essential oil composition of Achillea millefolium L. growing in Estonia and in other European countries, were determined. The oils were obtained in yields of 0.9-9.5 mL kg-1. A total of 102 components were identified. The quantitatively most important components of yarrow were sabinene, beta-pinene, 1,8-cineole, artemisia ketone, linalool, alpha-thujone, beta-thujone, camphor, borneol, fenchyl acetate, bornyl acetate, (E)-beta-caryophyllene, germacrene D, caryophyllene oxide, beta-bisabolol, delta-cadinol, chamazulene etc. Samples from Estonia contained high amounts of monoterpenes and chamazulene. High amounts of monoterpenes and chamazulene were also found in samples from Hungary, Greek, Moldavia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany. The oils from France, Belgium, Russia, Armenia, Spain and Italy were rich in oxygenated monoterpenes and contained a little amount of chamazulene. The drugs from Greece, Estonia, Moldavia and Scotland were rich in sesquiterpenes. The Millefolii herba grown in Estonia conforms to the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) standards in the aspect of the essential oil contents.

Vitalini S, Beretta G, Iriti M, Orsenigo S, Basilico N, Dall'Acqua S, Iorizzi M, Fico G. Phenolic compounds from Achillea millefolium L. and their bioactivity. Acta Biochim Pol. 2011;58(2):203-9. Epub 2011 Apr 19. PMID: 21503279.

Abstract. Since antiquity, Achillea millefolium L. (Asteraceae) has been used in traditional medicine of several cultures, from Europe to Asia. Its richness in bioactive compounds contributes to a wide range of medicinal properties. In this study, we assessed A. millefolium methanolic extract and its isolated components for free radical scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-pycrilhydrazyl, total antioxidant capacity (based on the reduction of Cu(++) to Cu(+)), and ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation. The activity against chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum was also tested. Chlorogenic acid, its derivatives and some flavonoids isolated by semipreparative HPLC and identified by NMR and spectrometric techniques were the major bioactive constituents of the methanolic extract. The latter exhibited significant antioxidant properties, as well as its flavonol glycosides and chlorogenic acids. With regard to the antiplasmodial activity, apigenin 7-glucoside was the most effective compound, followed by luteolin 7-glucoside, whereas chlorogenic acids were completely inactive. On the whole, our results confirmed A. millefolium as an important source of bioactive metabolites, justifying its pharmaceutical and ethnobotanical use.

(2) Alomair MK, Alabduladheem LS, Almajed MA, Alobaid AA, Alkhalifah EAR, Younis NS, Mohamed ME. Achillea millefolium Essential Oil Mitigates Peptic Ulcer in Rats through Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway. Molecules. 2022 Nov 15;27(22):7908. doi: 10.3390/molecules27227908. PMID: 36432009; PMCID: PMC9692697.

 Abstract. Extreme ethanol ingestion is associated with developing gastric ulcers. Achillea millefolium (yarrow) is one of the most commonly used herbs with numerous proven pharmacological actions. The goal of the hereby investigation is to explore the gastroprotective action of yarrow essential oil against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers and to reveal the unexplored mechanisms. Rats were distributed into five groups (n = 6); the control group administered 10% Tween 20, orally, for two weeks; the ethanol group administered absolute ethanol (5 mL/kg) to prompt gastric ulcer on the last day of the experiment. Yarrow essential oil 100 or 200 mg/kg + ethanol groups pretreated with yarrow oil (100 or 200 mg/kg, respectively), orally, for two weeks prior to gastric ulcer induction by absolute ethanol. Lanso + ethanol group administered 20 mg/kg lansoprazole, orally, for two weeks prior to gastric ulcer induction by ethanol. Results of the current study showed that ethanol caused several macroscopic and microscopic alterations, amplified lipid peroxidation, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and apoptotic markers, as well as diminished PGE2, NO, and antioxidant enzyme activities. On the other hand, animals pretreated with yarrow essential oil exhibited fewer macroscopic and microscopic modifications, reduced ulcer surface, and increased Alcian blue binding capacity, pH, and pepsin activity. In addition, yarrow essential oil groups exhibited reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, apoptotic markers, and MDA, restored the PGE2 and NO levels, and recovered the antioxidant enzyme activities. Ethanol escalated Nrf2 and HO-1 expressions, whereas pretreatment of yarrow essential oil caused further intensification in Nrf2 and HO-1. To conclude, the current study suggested yarrow essential oil as a gastroprotective agent against ethanol-induced gastric lesions. This gastroprotective effect could be related to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic actions of the essential oil through the instigation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.