Antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of Mexican medicinal plants.
The antimicrobial effects of the Mexican medicinal plants Guazuma ulmifolia, Justicia spicigera, Opuntia joconostle, O. leucotricha, Parkinsonia aculeata, Phoradendron longifolium, P. serotinum, Psittacanthus calyculatus, Tecoma stans and Teucrium cubense were tested against several human multi-drug resistant pathogens, including three Gram (+) and five Gram (-) bacterial species and three fungal species using the disk-diffusion assay. The cytotoxicity of plant extracts on human cancer cell lines and human normal non-cancerous cells was also evaluated using the MTT assay. Phoradendron longifolium, Teucrium cubense, Opuntia joconostle, Tecoma stans and Guazuma ulmifolia showed potent antimicrobial effects against at least one multidrug-resistant microorganism (inhibition zone > 15 mm). Only Justicia spicigera and Phoradendron serotinum extracts exerted active cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cells (IC50 < or = 30 microg/mL). The results showed that Guazuma ulmifolia produced potent antimicrobial effects against Candida albicans and Acinetobacter lwoffii, whereas Justicia spicigera and Phoradendron serotinum exerted the highest toxic effects on MCF-7 and HeLa, respectively, which are human cancer cell lines. These three plant species may be important sources of antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents.
Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Avenida Articulo 123, Fraccionamiento Filadelfia, Gómez Palacio, Durango 35010, México.
Maria del Rosario
Mdel R
Jacobo-Salcedo
Angel Josabad
AJ
Alonso-Castro
Luis A
LA
Salazar-Olivo
Candy
C
Carranza-Alvarez
Luis Angel
LA
González-Espíndola
Fabiola
F
Domínguez
Sandra Patricia
SP
Maciel-Torres
Concepción
C
García-Lujan
Marisela del Rocio
Mdel R
González-Martínez
Maricela
M
Gómez-Sánchez
Eduardo
E
Estrada-Castillón
Rocio
R
Zapata-Bustos
Pedro
P
Medellin-Milán
Alejandro
A
García-Carrancá
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts