Abstract
Artemisia abrotanum L. (southern wormwood) is a plant species with an important position in the history of European and Asian medicine. It is a species famous as a medicinal plant in Central Asia, Asia Minor, and in South-East and Central Europe. The raw materials obtained from this species are Abrotani herba and Abrotani folium. In the traditional European medicine, they have been used successfully most of all in liver and biliary tract diseases, in parasitic diseases in children and as antipyretic medication. In the official European medicine, this plant species is recommended by the French Pharmacopoeia for use in homeopathy. In many European countries, it is used traditionally in allopathy. The latest studies on the biological activity of extracts from the aboveground parts of the plant and/or the leaves, and/or the essential oil have provided evidence of other possible applications related to their antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, and antiallergic properties. The latest studies have also focused on the repellent activity of the essential oil of this species and the possibility to use it in the prevention of diseases in which insects are the vectors. The main substances obtained from the plant that are responsible for this activity are: the essential oil, coumarins, phenolic acids, and flavonoids. Some of the latest investigations emphasize the large differences in the composition of the essential oil, determined by the geographical (climatic) origin of the plant. A. abrotanum is recommended by the European Cosmetic Ingredients Database (CosIng) as a source of valuable cosmetic ingredients. Additionally, the leaves of this species possess a well-established position in the food industry. This plant species is also the object of biotechnological studies.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The awarding of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin [1,2], a sesquiterpenoid lactone, in Artemisia annua and proving its effectiveness in the treatment of malaria sparked a huge interest in the world of science in the chemistry and biological activity of other Artemisia species [3,4,5,6,7]
Inhibition of the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans by components of A. abrotanum essential oil, incl. borneol, cymene, camphor, terpineol, 1,8-cineole, and aromadendrene
The action of the methanolic extract from the A. abrotanum plant and of the individual components of the extract were tested against the bacteria: Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Micrococcus flavus, and against the fungi: Penicillium ochrochloron, P. funiculosum, Candida albicans, Aspergillus ochraceus, A. niger and A. flavus using the microdilution method
Summary
On the Arabian Peninsula [8] The herb of this species—Abrotani herba— occupies an important position in the traditional medicine of European countries [8,9,10,11]. It is recommended most often for the treatment of diseases of the liver and the biliary tract. Apart from the essential oil, the coumarins, phenolic acids and flavonoids present in the chemical composition of the plant are responsible for the abovementioned biological effects This species is traditionally an object of interest of the food industry [13]. The aim was presentation of biotechnological studies of this species and its position in the food industry
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