Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oil Isolated from the Seeds of MoroccanArtemisia campestrisL.

Artemisia campestris L. commonly known as Allal in the southeastern region of Morocco (Tigri-Tendrara) is a medicinal plant. The seeds of this species are particularly used by the local population in the preparation of traditional medicine. For the first time, essential oil obtained from hydrodistilled seeds of the Moroccan Artemisia campestris L. was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. A total of fifty-four compounds amounting 86.7% of the essential oil were identified. The major components were β-pinene (12.0%), spathulenol (10.8%), α-pinene (7.5%), limonene (7.0%) and o-cymene (5.4%). The essential oil showed good in vitro antibacterial activity against three Gram-negative strains: E. coli, P. aeruginosa and B. vesicularis, and three Gram-positive strains S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and B. antharcis. Column chromatography fractionation of the essential oil over silica gel helped to attribute the antimicrobial activity to the oxygenated mono and sesquiterpene-rich fractions with a MIC value as low as 28.7 mg/mL.