Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis and some other medicinal plants commonly used in South-East Asia.
BACKGROUND
Eight medicinal plants were tested for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Different extraction methods were also tested for their effects on the bioactivities of the medicinal plants.


METHODS
Eight plants, namely Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis (Laliaocao), Folium Murraya Koenigii (Jialiye), Rhizoma Arachis Hypogea (Huashenggen), Herba Houttuyniae (Yuxingcao), Epipremnum pinnatum (Pashulong), Rhizoma Typhonium Flagelliforme (Laoshuyu), Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Houpo) and Rhizoma Imperatae (Baimaogen) were investigated for their potential antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.


RESULTS
Extracts of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis had the strongest activities against M. Smegmatis, C. albicans, B. subtilis and S. aureus. Boiled extracts of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis, Folium Murraya Koenigii, Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis and Herba Houttuyniae demonstrated greater antioxidant activities than other tested medicinal plants.


CONCLUSIONS
Among the eight tested medicinal plants, Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis showed the highest antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Different methods of extraction yield different spectra of bioactivities.
Chan
Lai Wah
LW
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore. phaclw@nus.edu.sg
Cheah
Emily L C
EL
Saw
Constance L L
CL
Weng
Wanyu
W
Heng
Paul W S
PW