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The antimicrobial effect and mechanism of the Artemisia argyi essential oil against bacteria and fungus

  • Soil and Agricultural Microbiology - Research Paper
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Abstract

Artemisia argyi is a traditional Chinese herb with antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor activities. The essential oil of Artemisia argyi was extracted using the steam distillation method in this study. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed using the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method. Agar disc diffusion and double-broth dilution assays were used to detect the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil. Subsequently, the antimicrobial mechanisms were explored through cytomembrane permeability assay and electron microscopy. Based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, 25 compounds were detected, including 13.76% cineole, 6.77% terpinen-4-ol, 6.68% 3-dione, 1,7,7-trimethyl-, 4.07% 3-cyclohexen-1-ol, 4-methyl-1-(1-methylethyl)-acetate, 3.58% 1-isopropyl-2-methylbenzene, and 1.58% g-terpinene. The essential oil was tested for antimicrobial activity, and the IC50 values for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Candida albicans were determined to be 25.51 ± 2.29, 49.53 ± 0.86, 52.40 ± 1.49, 52.76 ± 1.60, 73.99 ± 1.38, 65.52 ± 0.95, and 214.98 ± 3.27 μg mL−1, respectively. For essential oil interaction with cytoderm, the microorganisms treated by 1 × IC50 and 2 × IC50 concentration of essential oil both represented positive test results. Additionally, the alkaline phosphatase levels showed a direct correlation with concentration and treatment duration (range from 0 to 8 h). The interaction between essential oils and the cytomembrane was investigated by examining samples containing one of three test strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans), essential oil, and voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye disc35. The results demonstrated a significant increase in fluorescence levels within the solution upon introduction of the essential oil-treated strains. The findings of our research suggest that the essential oil disrupts the cytoderm and cytomembrane, thereby exhibiting antimicrobial activity.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Anhui Scientific Research and Innovation Team of Quality Evaluation and Improvement of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2022AH010090), the Provincial Level Nature Science Foundation of Anhui Education Department (KJ2019A0628, KJ2019A0617, KJ2019A0626, KJ2021A0957, KJ2020A0634, and GXYQ2020127), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of West Anhui University (WXBSH2021001), and The High-level Talent Project of West Anhui University (WGKQ2021021).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Lu’an City, 237012, China

    Daoyuan Li, Run Wang, Meng You, Naidong Chen, Li Sun & Naifu Chen

  2. Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of TCM, Lu’an City, 237012, China

    Daoyuan Li, Naidong Chen & Naifu Chen

  3. Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Quality Evaluation and Improvement of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lu’an City, 237012, China

    Daoyuan Li, Naidong Chen, Li Sun & Naifu Chen

  4. Lu’an City Key Laboratory for Quality Evaluation and Improvement of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lu’an City, 237012, China

    Daoyuan Li, Naidong Chen, Li Sun & Naifu Chen

  5. College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China

    Run Wang, Meng You & Naidong Chen

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  1. Daoyuan Li
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Correspondence to Naidong Chen.

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Li, D., Wang, R., You, M. et al. The antimicrobial effect and mechanism of the Artemisia argyi essential oil against bacteria and fungus. Braz J Microbiol 55, 727–735 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-023-01172-2

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