Antifungal activity of essential oil from Artemisia afra Jacq.

Artemisia afra is indigenous to the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe where it is used in folk medicine. Hydro-distilled volatile oil from the aerial parts of the plant was tested for antifungal activity against 10 fungal species using the dry weight method. The results obtained showed that the essential oil exhibited significant activity against Aspergillus ochraceus, Candida albicans, Alternaria alternata, Geotrichum candidum, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium citrium and Aspergillus parasiticus.