title: Ethanolic extracts of Tinospora cordifolia and Alstonia scholaris show antimicrobial activity towards clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant and carbapenemase-producing bacteria.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro antimicrobial activity of crude extracts of three plants from Ayurveda tradition (Tinospora cordifolia, Alstonia scholaris, Crataeva nurvala) against reference microbial strains and clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. IC50 values were obtained by micro-dilution methods meeting the requirements of the NCCLS standard. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was also investigated on a mammalian cell line. Extracts displayed a variable degree of antimicrobial activity and did not interfere with mammalian cell proliferation. T. cordifolia and A. scholaris exhibited a higher inhibitory activity against clinical isolates of MRSA and carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae compared with reference strains, while C. nurvala exhibited a different behaviour. An antifungal activity towards Candida albicans was observed for A. scholaris extract. Results indicate that constituents from T. cordifolia and A. scholaris may be a potential source of new therapeutic strategies for infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology , University of Bologna , Via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna , Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonvicini
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandrone
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Antognoni
authors.forename: Ferruccio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poli
authors.forename: Giovanna Angela
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Gentilomi
mesh_terms: D031051:Alstonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D007558:Italy; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D031610:Tinospora / Q000737:chemistry*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000431:Ethanol; D001618:beta-Lactamases; C063912:carbapenemase
keywords: Alstonia scholaris; Ayurveda tradition; Tinospora cordifolia; antimicrobial activity; broth micro-dilution; clinical isolates; multiple drug resistance pathogens