Antimicrobial activity of selected Peruvian medicinal plants.
The antimicrobial activity of 36 ethanol extracts from 24 plants, all of them currently used in the Peruvian traditional medicine for the treatment of several infectious and inflammatory disorders, was tested by means of the agar-well diffusion assay against four bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and four fungi (Candida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum gypseum and Sporothrix schenckii). Twenty-five (69%) extracts showed some degree of antimicrobial activity against at least one microorganism. The plants with the greatest antimicrobial activity were Cestrum auriculatum L. Heritier (Solanaceae), Iryanthera lancifolia Ducke Suesseng (Myristicaceae), Lepechinia meyenii (Walp.) Epling (Lamiaceae) and Ophryosporus peruvianus (Gmelin) King & H. Rob. (Asteraceae).
Rojas
Rosario
R
Departamento de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Aptdo. Postal 1761, Lima 100, Peru.
Bustamante
Beatriz
B
Bauer
José
J
Fernández
Irma
I
Albán
Joaquina
J
Lock
Olga
O
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010568:Peru; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts