Abstract:To find effective and green antibacterial preservatives for food, the essential oils of Artemisia argyi, Herba Artimisiae sieversianae and Artemisia japonica from Henan were extracted by steam distillation method, their chemical components were detected and identified by GC-MS analysis. The results showed that the main components of essential oil of Artemisia argyi were Neointermedeol (16.82%), Caryophyllene oxide (10.51%), β-Caryophyllene (6.45%), Terpinen-4-ol (5.22%), endo-Borneol (4.60%), Eucalyptol(4.55%). The main components of essential oil of Herba Artimisiae sieversianae were Caryophyllene oxide (15.24%), Falcarinol (14.34%), Spathulenol (6.61%), 4(15),5,10(14)-Germacratrien-1-ol (6.27%), n-Hexadecanoic acid (5.72%), α-Cadinol (5.19%) . The main components of essential oil of Artemisia japonica sieversianae were Cyclohexanone (30.14%), Caryophyllene oxide (9.74%), 1,2-xylene(4.72%),2-Propenoic acid (4.38%), (3Z,6E)-a-Farnesene (3.88%), (E)-alpha-famesene (3.80%), β-Caryophyllene (3.31%). The three essential oils all contained Caryophyllene, Caryophyllene Oxide, Neointermedeol, (-)-Spathulenol and Terpinen-4-ol with high content. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil of three Artemisia plants was determined by filter paper disk disffusion. Results showed that the three kinds of essential oils had good antimicrobial effects on three tested microbes: Escherichia coli, Micrococcus tetragenus and Bacillus cereus. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Artemisia argyi and Herba Artimisiae sieversianae was stronger than that of Artemisia japonica. Therefore, the essential oil of Artemisia plants is expected to be a potential natural antibacterial agent and food preservative.
