Antibacterial activity of methanol extract of two species of Artemisia from Iran

Artemisia has been traditionally used to treat bacterial and parasitic infections. The purpose of this study is to determine the antibacterial effects of methanol extracts of A. persica and A. aucheri against four bacterial species including Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella entrica. Antimicrobial activity, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal activity of extract was determined by agar disc diffusion and micro dilution broth methods. Results showed antibacterial activity of methanol extract on all microorganisms except E coli. In addition, generally, positive bacteria were more sensitive than the negative ones. Moreover, minimum inhibitory concentrations indicated that methanol extracts of A. aucheri was more effective than A. persica