CHEMICAL, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ANALYSIS OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL AND EXTRACT OF ARTEMISIA ALBA TURA.

This study examines the essential oil and the ethanol extract of Artemisia alba Turra herb, in terms of chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in order to select the active pharmacological isolate for making phytopreparation from the group of bitter aromatics and/or bitter liqueurs. Chemical composition of the essential oils and volatile fractions of the extract was determined by GC-FID/GC-MS and non-volatile fractions of the extract by HPLC. The content of total phenolics and flavonoids in the extracts was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride, respectively. The antioxidant activity of isolates was tested by FRAP and DPPH tests and the antimicrobial by microdilution method. Major constituents in the essential oil were camphor, artemisia ketone and 1,8-cineole (23.7%, 15.2% and 14.1%, respectively), and in the volatile fraction of the extract, scopoletin (14.0%) and corymbolone (10.3%). The main components in non-volatile fraction of the extract were kaempferol 3-O-(6"-Omalonylglucoside)- 7-O-rhamnoside, chlorogenic acid and rutin (16.1%, 11.4% and 9.5% respectively). The content of total phenolics in the extract, expressed as gallic acid was 77.18 mg/g and flavonoids, expressed as rutin 53.80 mg/g of dry extract. Extract exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than essential oil and better antimicrobial activity on a larger number of tested microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]