Planta Med. 2002 Oct; 68(10): 941-3.

Composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Achillea multifida.

BaÅer KH, Demirci B, Demirci F, KoÃ§ak S, Akinci C, Malyer H, G�lery�z G.

Medicinal and Aromatic Plant and Drug Research Centre (TBAM), Anadolu University, EskiÅehir, Turkey. [email protected]

The composition of the water-distilled essential oil of Achillea multifida (DC.) Boiss. (Compositae) was analysed by GC and GC/MS. Fifty-eight compounds were identified representing 93.9 % of the total oil. alpha-Thujone (60.9 %), beta-thujone (9.1 %), sabinene (4.1 %) and camphor (3.7 %) were characterised as the main constituents. The essential oil was tested for its antimicrobial activity using a micro-dilution assay resulting in the inhibition (MIC: 62.5-250 microg/ml) of human pathogenic bacteria and yeast.