Leaves from mature plants of Artemisia nilagirica var. septentrionalis, before flowering, were collected from different altitudes in Himachal Pradesh such as Shimla (2210 m), Mandi (1044 m) and Manali (2050 m) in June 2005.

The major constituents of the oil show variation with changes in altitude. At lower, middle and higher altitudes, the major constituents of the oil were caryophyllene oxide (28.6%), borneol (35.8%) and camphor (46.9%), respectively. The percentages of alpha-humulene and trans-beta-guaiene also increased, but the percentage of sabinene, trans-sabinene hydrate, 4-terpineol, caryophyllene oxide and humulene epoxide-II decreased with an increase in altitude. The characteristic compounds observed in the plants from lower altitudes were 2-hexene-1-ol, beta-thujone, thujanol, myrtenol and linalyl acetate, while the higher altitude plants were characterized by the presence of alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, linalool, gamma-gurijunene, germacrene-D and farnesol.