The antifungal activity of Artemisia herba-alba aqueous extract and essential oil against storage fungus Alternaria spp and Fusarium spp

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of aqueous extract and essential oil of Artemisia herba-alba on some specific storage fungi. This plant has been selected on the basis of its ethnobotanical uses. Different concentration of aqueous extract (20, 25 and 30%) and essential oil (0.15, 0.175, 0.200 and 0.250%) were evaluated in vitro for their antifungal activity against Fusarium spp and Alternaria spp. The concentration of 30% of extracts inhibits the growth of Alternaria while 0,025 % of essential oil recorded a good antifungal activity. On the other hand, the aqueous extracts showed better efficacy than essential oil on Fusarium spp and Alternaria spp. Therefore the Artemisia herbaalba aqueous extract and its richness of secondary metabolites (flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins and steroids ) could be considered as a potential source of treatment of plant diseases, this study presents the different results obtained.