Seasonal variation of antimicrobial and antioxidative activity in Artemisia princeps var. orientalis

Leaves from natural populations of Artemisia princeps var. orientalis in Suncheon of South Korea were examined for antimicrobial and antioxidative activities monthly (April through October). The antimicrobial activity of the ethyl acetate and water fractions of crude methanol extract from the plant collected monthly against three gram-positive, two gram-negative and one lactic acid bacteria were studied. The ethyl acetate and water fractions of crude methanol extract from A. princeps var. orientalis collected in August and September had the highest antimicrobial activity. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for each strain by ethyl acetate fraction of methanol extract from A. princeps var. orientalis was different depending on strains and sampling months. MIC for each strain was the highest in the sample of April, followed by October. In specific, MIC for Bacillus cereus was around 0.25mg/disc in the sample of April. The MIC for Staphyllococcus aureus was 0.01mg/disc in the sample of July, August, and September. It was the lowest value among tested strains and samples. And the antimicrobial activity for Lactobacillus plantarum was not found at any concentrations and sampling months. The in vitro antioxidative activities of methanol extract from Artemisia princeps var. orientalis collected monthly were determined by the scavenging of DPPH radical and inhibition of xanthine oxidase activity. The DPPH scavenging activity of the extracts from the plant sampled in May, June and July were higher than any other months. The xanthine oxidase activity of the extract of A. princeps var. orientalis collected in April and May showed the greatest activity, it is different with antimicrobial activity.