Screening of Zingiberaceae extracts for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 72; no. 3; pp. 403 - 410
• Main Authors: Habsah, M, Amran, M, Mackeen, M.M, Lajis, N.H, Kikuzaki, H, Nakatani, N, Rahman, A.A, Ghafar, Ali, A.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.10.2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant activity; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Aspergillus - drug effects; Bacillus subtilis - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; General pharmacology; Medical sciences; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Species Specificity; Zingiberaceae; Zingiberales - chemistry; Asia; Malaysia; Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant activity; Zingiberaceae; Monocotyledones; Pharmacognosy; Extract; Antioxidant; Screening test; In vitro; Biological activity; Medicinal plant; Antifungal agent; Folk medicine; Angiospermae; Plant origin; Spermatophyta; Antibacterial agent
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/S0378-8741(00)00223-3

Dichloromethane and methanol extracts of 13 Zingiberaceae species from the Alpinia, Costus and Zingiber genera were screened for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The antimicrobial activity of most of the extracts was antibacterial with only the methanol extract of Costus discolor showing very potent antifungal activity against only Aspergillus ochraceous (MID, 15.6 μg per disc). All the extracts showed strong antioxidant activity comparable with or higher that of α-tocopherol.