Correlation between antibacterial activities of two Artemisia spp. extracts and their plant characteristics.

Background: The antimicrobial activity of Artemisia absinthium L. and Artemisia herba-alba Asso. against various pathogens is differentiated by using different organic solvents and aqueous solution and in terms of pollen grain traits. The similarities and dissimilarities were analyzed by simple linear regressions and in terms of Pearson correlation coefficients.

Objective: The present study evaluated the potential antibacterial activity of A. absinthium L. and A. herba-alba Asso. extracts by using various organic and aqueous solvents. The tested bacteria included pathogenic strains: Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, and Staphylococcus aureus.

Methods: Different affinities were observed for the studied organic solvents in addition to aqueous ones. A comparative analysis was conducted, focusing morphological, anatomical, and palynological characteristics. The similarity parameter was obtained. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for both plant extracts were analyzed using the analysis of variance, while Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for plant traits.

Results: Butanol emerged as the predominant organic solvent extract for both species whereas chloroform and diethyl ether exhibited a broad antibacterial spectrum for A. absinthium L. and A. herba alba Asso. MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration values were confirmed by using butanol and diethyl ether extracts of A. absinthium L. and butanol and chloroform extracts of A. herba alba Asso. against the tested pathogenic bacteria. The results highlight the potential of these extracts as alternative natural antibacterial agents.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that using successive organic plant extractions can help identify the most effective extract that can serve as a source of alternative medicine due to its various active natural components.