An essential oil sample of davana (Artemisia pallens Wall. ex DC.) and a fraction thereof were investigated for their chemical composition using GC and GC-MS. cis-Davanone (45.8%), bicyclogermacrene (9.6%), linalool (2.5%), caryophyllene oxide (2.2%) and phytol (2.1%) were found to be the main constituents of the davana oil sample. The main constituents of the fraction were analyzed as cis-davanone (72.2%), davana ether 2° (5.2%) and (Z)-ethyl cinnamate (5.2%). Antimicrobial activities of the essential oil, the fraction, some major and reference compounds were evaluated against seven strains of bacteria and one yeast using agar diffusion and agar dilution methods. The davana essential oil showed antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica and the yeast Candida albicans; the davana fraction was effective against all the tested bacteria and yeast except Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris. The oil and the fraction were also olfactorially evaluated.
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