COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ARTEMISIA HERBA ALBA ASSO AND CITRUS AURANTIUM ESSENTIAL OILS

Artemisia herba alba asso, peel and leaves of Citrus aurantium grown in the western Algerian city (Mascara) were subjected to hydrodistillation by Clevenger dispositive. The essential oils obtained were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and used for the study of the antifungal activity against five clinical strains of Candida albicans. The results of chemical analysis revealed 40 constituents in Artemisia essential oil, where the major components were camphor (34.89%) and chrysantenone (19.60%). While, the main component of peel and leaves of Citrus essential oils was the lineal (42.33%, 60.62%) respectively. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration value was found in the case of Artemisia essential oil (1.95 mu l/ml) against the (S3) Candida albicans strain. The experimental results confirmed that these extracts are marked by significant anti-fungal activity, which can be used as alternative drugs against candidiasis.