Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Artemisia aucheri aerial parts

Artemisia aucheri is an aromatic plant from Asteraceae family, a native plant distributed in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of A. aucheri essential oil endemic in Khorasan-Iran. Chemical composition was examined by GC/MS and the antimicrobial activity was studied on the growth of eight microbial species including two gram positive bacteria: Staphilococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, two gram negative bacteria: Salmonella typhimorium and Escherichia coli, two yeasts: Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cereviciae and two mold species: Streptomyces natalensis and Aspergillus niger. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were determined using micro-dilution method. The analysis of essential oil composition showed a total of 47 compounds (97.36 %) in which linalool (20 %), camphor (18 %) represented 38 % of the total oil. Results of antimicrobial analysis showed that gram positive bacteria (MIC=100 and MBC=400 mu g/ml) were more sensitive than gram negative ones (MIC=200 and MBC=400 mu g/ml). S. cereviciae was more resistance than C. albicans while growth of S. natalensis and A. niger inhibited at the same concentration of essential oil.