CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF AERIAL PART OF Artemisia absinthium L. (ASTERACEAE) FROM ALGERIA

Artemisia absinthium L. is a spontaneous medicinal plant grown in Al-geria. This work aims to enhance the essential oil of Artemisia absinthium (EOAa) from the region of Sidi Bel Abbes by studying the chemical composi-tion of the species and its antibacterial activity. The essential oil is analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. We identified 41 con-stituents, representing 98.43% of the oil total composition; the main compounds of the essential oil were Camphor (25.47%), followed respectively by 0-Thujone (18.23%), Camphene (7.21%), and 0-Caryophyllene (6.72%). The antibacterial activity of essential oils was evaluated against five microorganisms using the diffusion disc method.The gram-negative micro-organisms (Candida Albicans ATCC 10231, Es-cherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853) had an inhibition zone with an important diameter, between 19 +/- 09 mm and 12 +/- 06 mm for concentration (100 mg/ml, 50 mg/ml and 25 mg/ml). Furthermore the gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Bacillus ATCC 11778) were less sensitive since dilution (25 mg/ml).