Comparative Study of the Chemical Profiling and Insecticidal Activity of Two Essential Oils from Algerian Artemisia Species (A. campestris L. and A. herba-alba Asso)

This study was conducted to compare the chemical composition of Artemisia campestris L. and Artemisia herba-alba Asso essential oils from Algeria and their fumigant toxicity against olive fly, Bactrocera oleae Rossi. Their chemical characterization by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) showed that A. campestris has a β-pinene chemotype (28.89%) while A. Herba-alba was characterized by the presence of davanone (22.03%), an oxygenated sesquiterpene, followed by eucalyptol (20.99%) as an oxygenated monoterpene. Both essential oils caused significant insect mortality through fumigant toxicity. The lowest value of lethal concentration, LC50, was 65.62 μL/L air, observed in A. herba-alba after 48 h. While, LC50 of A. campestris essential oil was 140.63 μL/L air in 48h. Both species of Artemisia have fumigant potential against the olive fly, but in A. herba-alba, it was stronger than in A. campestris.