Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Artemisia aucheri Boiss. essential oil

Artemisia aucheri Boiss. is a shrub from Asteraceae family that spread all over Iran. In traditional medicine, A. aucheri is a plant with astringent properties, disinfectant, antimicrobial, antiparasit and antitoxicant activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate, the antimicrobial activity of aerial part essential oil of A. aucheri against a large number of microorganisms including gram positive, gram negative bacteria, filamentous fungi, and yeast by disc diffusion and micro broth dilution assays. Fifty four components were identified by GC and GC/MS in the essential oil of A. aucheri, representing 98% of total oil. The major components were geranyl acetate (17.2%), α-citral (17.1%), linalool (12.7%), geraniol (10.7%) and Z-citral (10.5%). The antimicrobial activity of A. aucheri oil was dose dependent. Aerial part essential oil showed the best antifungal activity and this effect is more than the antibacterial activity. Gram negative bacteria were less sensitive than gram positive bacteria. Means average of inhibition diameters of oil against gram positive bacteria and fungi were more than vancomycin and amphotricin B, respectively and this effect was smaller than gentamycin in gram negative bacteria.