Antibacterial, cytotoxic and phytochemical screening of some traditional medicinal plants in Brazil

• Published in: Pharmaceutical biology Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 44 - 52
• Main Authors: Bouzada, Maria L.M, Fabri, Rodrigo L, Nogueira, Mauro, Konno, Tatiana U.P, Duarte, Gizele G, Scio, Elita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Informa UK Ltd 2009; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Antibacterial; antibacterial properties; Artemia; Artemia salina; Baccharis; Baccharis dracunculifolia; Bacillus cereus; Cajanus cajan; chemical constituents of plants; Concinnum; cytotoxicity; Escherichia coli; Eugenia uniflora; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Leonurus; Leonurus sibiricus; lethal dose 50; medicinal plants; methanol; Mikania; Mikania glomerata; minimum inhibitory concentration; plant extracts; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Salmonella typhimurium; screening; Shigella sonnei; Solanum; Solanum concinnum; Solanum palinacanthum; Staphylococcus aureus; toxicity testing; traditional medicine; Brazil
• ISSN: 1388-0209; 1744-5116
• DOI: 10.1080/13880200802411771

As part of a program oriented towards the discovery of bioactive natural products, 44 methanol extracts from 37 Brazilian traditional medicinal plants, most of them commonly used for treating conditions likely to be associated with microorganisms, were evaluated for their antibacterial activity and toxicity to brine shrimp. The agar-well diffusion method was used against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella sonnei, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. The active extracts were subjected to serial dilution assay for determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts for their major groups of phytoconstituents is also reported. Extracts of Baccharis dracunculifolia, Cajanus cajan, Eugenia uniflora, Solanum palinacanthum and Solanum concinnum presented strong antibacterial activity with MIC values below 10 μg/mL for some bacterial strains. The extracts of Mikania glomerata and Leonurus sibiricus showed significant toxicity against brine shrimp with LC50 values of 63 and 86 μg/mL, respectively.