Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts of the Algerian Artemisia campestris L. at different stage of growth

Abstract

Artemisia campestris, widely abundant in North Africa, is usually used as a decoction to treat several diseases; but its chemical composition at different growth stages and along a climatic gradient has never been investigated. In this study, phytochemical content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of crude methanolic fractions from dry aerial parts of A. campestris, growing in two different bioclimatic conditions, were compared. The growth stages, vegetative and reproductive, were also taken into consideration. The HPLC analysis revealed the presence of several compounds like ascorbic, isovannilic, ferrulic and cinnapic acids. The antioxidant activity was evaluated with two different methods: DPPH and FRAP essay. The four samples showed very high antioxidant activity. The in vitro antimicrobial activity shows a strong inhibitory effect against gram positive bacteria. But, they were resistant to gram negative bacteria and yeast. The biggest inhibition diameter was recorded against S. aureus and B. cereus.