Evaluation of the antimicrobial potential of medicinal plants from the Ivory Coast.

K Kamanzi Atindehou (1, 2) , M. Koné (1, 2) , C. Terreaux (3) , D. Traore (3) , K. Hostettmann (3) , M. Dosso (4, 5)

1 Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS)
2 Laboratoire de Botanique, UFR Biosciences
3 Institut de Pharmacognosie et Phytochimie
4 Département bactériologie virologie
5 Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire

A total of 148 crude ethanol extracts from 115 plant species were tested in vitro against Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. Moreover, they were submitted to antifungal assays against Candida albicans and Cladosporium cucumerinum, a human and a plant pathogenic microorganism, respectively, known to be good indicators of antifungal activity. No activity was detected against the Gram-negative bacteria, while 14.8% and 10.8% of the extracts showed Gram-positive bactericidal or bacteriostatic effects on S. aureus and E. faecalis, respectively. An antifungal activity was observed with 15 extracts (10.1%). Two species were particularly active against the fungi: Dioscorea minutiflora and Erythrina vogelii. The young tubers of D. minutiflora contain metabolites with a specific effect on fungi and were not active against the bacteria. On the other hand, E. vogelii was highly effective against the Gram-positive bacteria and the fungi.

Keywords: Medicinal plants; antibacterial activity; antifungal activity; Ivory Coast

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Bacteriology

K Kamanzi Atindehou, M. Koné, C. Terreaux, D. Traore, K. Hostettmann, et al.. Evaluation of the antimicrobial potential of medicinal plants from the Ivory Coast.. Phytotherapy Research, 2002, 16 (5), pp.497-502. ⟨10.1002/ptr.970⟩. ⟨pasteur-00763071⟩