Chemical and biological study on the essential oil of Artemisiacaerulescens L. ssp. densiflora (Viv.)

Abstract

Artemisia caerulescens L. ssp. densiflora (Viv.) is a wild shrub that grows in the archipelago of La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy. The antifungal activity of the volatile oil of this sub-species has not been evaluated earlier. This study aimed to identify the main components of the essential oil of A. caerulescens L. ssp. densiflora and to investigate its antifungal activity. Identification of the different components of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from A. caerulescens L. ssp. densiflora was done by both techniques: GC-MS and NMR analyses (¹H, ¹³C, HSQC-NMR). Antifungal activity was evaluated by agar disc diffusion technique against environmental isolates of fungal strains: two yeasts (Rhodotorula spp., Candida spp.), three moulds (Aspergillus spp., Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp.) and a mixture of moulds. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil yielded 42 compounds, out of which, 26 compounds were identified. The main compound was identified as terpinen-4-ol (22%) followed by p-cymene (7.6%) and α-terpineol (3.02%). The significant inhibition spectrum of the essential oil of A. caerulescens L. ssp. densiflora can be considered as an alternative to common disinfectants.

Keywords::

• Artemisia densiflora
• essential oil
• antifungal activity
• GC-MS
• NMR

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena and Fondazione Banco di Sardegna. The authors gratefully acknowledge useful discussions with Prof. Elsayed Omer, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, Egypt.