STUDY ON THE ANTIMICROBIAL, CYTOTOXIC, AND GENOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF Artemisia dracunculus L.

Abstract

The antimicrobial, cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of the essential oil of Artemisia dracunculus whose many biological activities are already known have been investigated. Antimicrobial screening was carried out by using the Kirby and Bauer disc diffusion method. We found that the essential oil of Artemisia dracunculus showed antimicrobial activity against some bacteria and fungi. The cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of five concentrations of the essential oil were tested with cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) on human peripheral lymphocytes in vitro. The numbers of nuclear buds were found to be statistically important while there was no significant increase in the micronuclei number. Furthermore, this essential oil has shown substantial cytotoxic activity in human lymphocytes.