Chemical composition of essential oil and antifungal activity of Artemisia persica Boiss. from Iran.

Artemisia is the largest and most diverse genus from the Asteraceae family that named locally "Dermaneh" in Iran. This study was conducted to determine, the chemical compounds of Artemisia persica Boiss essential oil and its antifungal effect, toward six toxigenic fungal strains in vitro. The yield of essential oil from the aerial parts of this plant species, using hydrodistillation method obtained 0.18% (v/w). The results of GC/MS analysis identified 31 components in the essential oil that laciniata furanone E (17.1%), artedouglasia oxide C (13.2%), Trans-pinocarveol (10.2%), pinocarvone (8.5%), and α-pinene (5.8%) were the major compounds. The results of the antifungal activity showed that the most sensitive fungal strains to A. persica Boiss. essential oil were Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus parasiticus with lower minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) of 1.25 μl/ml (v/v). Also the strong fungicidal effect was observed against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus nidulans at a MFC value of 2.5 μl/ml, while the fungicidal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger observed in the 10 μl/ml oil concentration. According to the results A. persica Boiss essential oil has a acceptable antifungal activity against Aspergillus strains and can be used to prevent food crops from fungal contaminations.