ABSTRACT
Background: There is a high variability in chemical composition of essential oil from Artemisia herba-alba grown in different countries and different localities in the same country. This has led to the characterization of many oil-dependent chemotypes assigned to the plant. Only one report was published on the essential oil composition of Artemisia herba-alba grown in Jordan. Aim: The current study aims to determines the essential oil composition of Artemisia herba-alba grown wild in south Jordan and test their activity against clinical isolate antibiotics resistant bacteria. Methodology: The essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analysed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The screening for essential oil activity was carried out using disc diffusion method on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results: Fifty-eight components accounting for 98.8% of the oil were identified, with oxygenated monoterpenes accounting for about 75% of the total oil content. Major identified compounds were cis-chrysanthenol (13.83%), 1,8-cineole (12.84%), cis-limonene (12.57%), α-terpinenol (6.97%), and γ-muurolene (4.50%). The volatile fractions exhibited potent activity against all resistant strains except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusion: We report here a new chemotype of Artemisia herba-alba grown in Jordan characterized by the presence of chrysanthenol, 1, 8-cineole, cis-limonene, and α-terpinenol.