Essential Oil of Artemisia judaica L. (ssp. Sahariensis) from Algerian Sahara: Antimicrobial Effects and Mechanisms of Action

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the essential oil of Artemisia judaica L. (ssp. Sahariensis) originated from south of Algeria by evaluating its antimicrobial activity as well as its mechanisms of action against bacterial and fungal microorganisms. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against 17 microbial strains. The mechanisms of action of Artemisia judaica essential oil (AJEO) have been studied by the evaluation of the release of cellular material (260 nm), the cell viability, the activity of lipase, and the salt tolerance. The AJEO yield was 1.27 ± 0.24% (w/w). The chemical composition of AJEO was characterized by a high content of piperitone (71.1%). The most sensitive bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus with an MIC of 2.73 mg/mL. AJEO was found to be enough to kill strains tested at least 40% after thirty seconds of incubation and to induce release of cellular material. On the other hand, AJEO showed complete inhibition of lipase activity of Candida albicans cells as well as the ability of cells to form colonies on saline medium. AJEO has a powerful antimicrobial activity against different microbial organisms with different mechanisms of action. AJEO seem to be useful in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic application.

Polyphenols Content and Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Hemolytic Activities of Essential Oils from Four Selected Medicinal Plants Growing in Algeria

“…The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined based on the methods approved by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (CLSI, 2008;CLSI, 2012), with slight modifications (Halla et al, 2019b). The Microtiter plates were inoculated within different concentration of essential oils and then incubated at 37 °C for Bacteria or 35 °C for C. albicans in a moist dark chamber.…”