title: Antimicrobial agents from selected medicinal plants in Libya.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of water and methanol extracts of 23 plant species that are commonly used in Libyan folk medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  The antimicrobial activity was determined using the well-diffusion method. Four test microorganisms were used namely, Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for the high biologically active crude plant extracts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 23 medicinal plants used in the study, only 5 methanolic extracts [Rosmarinus offcinalis L., Carduus marianium L., Lantana camara L., Rhus tripartite (ueria) Grande, and Thymus capitatus (L.) Hoffm (link)] showed the highest antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella species, while 22 methanolic and aqueous extracts showed moderate to weak antimicrobial activity on all tested organisms. However 19 of the extracts showed no activity at all against Gram-ve and Gram +ve microorganisms. MIC was found to be 1.25 mg/mL (Thymus capitatus), 3 mg/mL (Rhus tripartite), 4 mg/mL (Carduus marianium), 5 mg/mL (Rosamarinus officinalis) and 5 mg/mL (Lantana camara), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present results revealed that, crude methanolic extracts of the investigated Libyan folk medicinal plants exhibited mild to high in vitro antibacterial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Arts, Sharora, University of Najran, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hasan M H
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Muhaisen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, University of Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi, El-Zintan-Libya, North Africa.
authors.forename: Miftah Mailoud
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ab-Mous
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, University of Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi, El-Zintan-Libya, North Africa.
authors.forename: Fadel A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Ddeeb
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, University of Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi, El-Zintan-Libya, North Africa.
authors.forename: Aboclaid Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rtemi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, University of Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi, El-Zintan-Libya, North Africa.
authors.forename: Omer M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Taba
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India. mehtab.organic2009@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mehtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parveen
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D008002:Libya; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Libyan folk medicine; antimicrobial activity; medicinal plant extracts; minimum inhibitory concentration