Chemical composition and antifungal activity of Artemisia nilagirica essential oil growing in northern hilly areas of India

• Published in: Natural product research 2013-01, Vol.27 (1), p.45-48
• Main Authors: Sati, Sushil Chandra, Sati, Nitin, Ahluwalia, Vivek, Walia, Suresh, Sati, O.P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antifungal activity; Antifungal Agents - chemistry; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Artemisia; Artemisia - chemistry; Artemisia nilagirica; Ascomycota - drug effects; asteraceae; Basidiomycota - drug effects; essential oil; India; Macrophomina phaseolina; monoterpene; Monoterpenes - chemistry; Monoterpenes - pharmacology; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; plant pathology; Rhizoctonia solani; Sclerotium rolfsii
• ISSN: 1478-6419; 1478-6427
• DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2011.650636

Essential oil extracted from aerial parts of Artemisia nilagirica was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Forty-three constituents amounting to 98.16% of the total essential oil contents were identified. The essential oil contained approximately 79.91% monoterpenoids and 18.25% sesquiterpenoids. α-Thujone (36.35%), β-thujone (9.37%), germacrene D (6.32%), 4-terpineol (6.31%), β-caryophyllene (5.43%), camphene (5.47%) and borneol (4.12%) were identified as the major constituents. The essential oil exhibited significant antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani (ED 50 , 85.75 mg L −1 ), Sclerotium rolfsii (ED 50 , 87.63 mg L −1 ) and Macrophomina phaseolina (ED 50 , 93.23 mg L −1 ). This study indicated that A. nilagirica essential oil can be used to control phytopathogenic fungi infesting agricultural crops and commodities.