Chemical composition of hydrodistilled essential oil of Artemisia incana (L.) Druce and antimicrobial activity against foodborne microorganisms

Abstract

The oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Artemisia incana (L.) Druce from Turkey was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Sixty-three compounds were characterized, representing 97.2% of the total components detected, and camphor (19.0%), borneol (18.9%), 1,8-cineole (14.5%), bornyl acetate (7.8%), camphene (4.9%), and alpha-thujone (4.8%) were identified as predominant components. The essential oil was also tested for its antimicrobial activity against 44 different foodborne microorganisms, including 26 bacteria, 15 fungi, and 3 yeast species. The essential oil of A. incana exhibited considerable inhibitory effects against all bacteria, fungi, and yeast species tested. However, the oil showed lower inhibitory activity against the tested bacteria than the reference antibiotics.