Antimicrobial activities of essential oil from Artemisiae argyi leaves

A study was conducted to determine the antimicrobial activities of essential oil from Artemisiae argyi leaves. The sample of the essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS. From 18 compounds representing the oils, Eucalyptole （18.42%）, Spathulenol （14.32）, 4-Methyl-1-（1-methylethyl）-3-cyclohexen-1-ol （3.10%）, 3-Carene （2.64%） appeared as the main components. The screening of antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was evaluated using agar diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Gram-positive bacterial were more sensitive than gram-negative bacterial of the 8 microorganisms, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 showed the lowest MIC （0.3125%） and MBC （0.625%）. In the disc diffusion assay, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 49134 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 showed obvious inhibitory activity. Survival curve showed that, 2MIC ofArtemisiae argyi essential oil had a lethal effect on Candida albicans within the first 1 h. Results presented here suggest that the essential oil of Artemisiae argyi leaves possesses antimicrobial properties, and provides scientific foundations for exploition ofArtemisiae argyi.