COMPOSITION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF Artemisia dracunculus 'PIEMONTESE' FROM ITALY

摘要

Artemisia dracunculus L. (Fam. Asteraceae), also known worldwide with several common names such "Dragoncello", "Estragon", or "Tarragon", is a perennial herb widely cultivated in temperate and tropical Asia, Europe, and Northern America. Leaves of A. dracunculus are used for culinary purposes and as stomachic and to treat intestinal spasms [1]. Many subspecies and varieties of this plant have been described; in particular the variety cultivated in Italy is called "Piemontese". Only the genotoxic properties of the essential oil obtained from this cultivar, using the Bacillus subtilis rec-assay and Salmonella/microsome reversion assay, has been studied [2]. No other studies on biological activity of A. dracunculus "Piemontese" have been reported in the literature.