Antimicrobial and Antioxidative Properties of the Volatile (Essential) Oil of Artemisia afra Jacq.

Steam-distilled volatile oil from Artemisia afra Jacq. (family Compositae), indigenous to the mountainous regions in southern Africa and used in popular medicine, was analysed by gas chromatography and tested for antimicrobial and antioxidative properties. The main components of the volatile oil were alpha- and beta-thujone (52%), 1,8-cineole (13%), camphor (15%) and alpha-pinene (2%). Twenty-five bacterial species and three filamentous fungi were used to assess the antimicrobial properties. Fifteen test bacteria and one fungus showed high degree of inhibition of growth caused by the volatile oil. The most susceptible organisms were Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Beneckea natriegens, Brevibacterium linens, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Serratia marcescens. The oil exerted considerable antioxidative effect.