Acaricide and Fungicide Effects of the Artemisia vulgaris Essential Oil

Aims: This study aimed to determine the chemical constitution of the essential oil from Artemisia vulgarisleaves and also evaluated the toxicity of the essential oil against Dermanyssus gallinae (poultry red mite) and Aspergillus flavus.
Methodology: The essential oil was obtained from A. vulgaris leaves by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. D. gallinae mortality was observed over a 24 h period at concentrations of 0.10; 0.19; 0.39; 0.59, and 0.78 µL /cm2 of essential oil, respectively. The fungal growth was evaluated by disk diffusion assay.
Results: The main chemical constituents were monoterpens α–thujone (48.46%), β– thujone (7.95%), caryophyllene (6.29%), and camphor (3.36%). Both concentrations (0.59 and 0.78 µL/cm2) were toxic to D. gallinae, with mortality of 62.0 and 97.8 %, respectively. The LC50 and LC90 values were 0.522 and 0.738 µL/cm2, respectively. A. flavus growth was inhibited from 41 to 88.58%.
Conclusion: These results indicate that A. vulgaris will be a promising alternative for the control of D. gallinae and A. flavus, contributing to pest management of importance in agribusiness.