Antimicrobial Screening of Some Turkish Medicinal Plants

Abstract Ethanol extracts of 19 Turkish medicinal plants, used in the traditional system of medicine, were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against 14 pathogenic bacterial species and a yeast, Candida albicans., using the agar well diffusion method. Anticandidal activity was detected in 10 plant extracts. Extracts of Eucalyptus camuldulensis. (leaves), Rosmarinus officinalis. (leaves), Ecballium elaterium. (leaves, fruits; 2:1, v/v), Liquidambar orientalis. (leaves), Cornus sanguinea. (leaves, flowers, stems; 2:1:1, v/v/v), Vitis vinifera. (leaves, raw fruits, young branches; 2:1:1, v/v/v), Inula viscosa. (leaves), Hypericum perforatum. (leaves, flowers, stems; 2:1:1, v/v/v), and Punica granatum. (leaves, flowers; (2:1, v/v) showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with inhibition zones ranging from 4 to 34 mm. The most resistant organisms were Escherichia coli., Candida albicans., Pseudomonas fluorescens., Bacillus subtilis. ATCC 6683, and Enterobacter faecalis. ATCC 29212, and the most susceptible species were Proteus vulgaris. ATCC 6997, Salmonella typhimurium. CCM 5445, Staphylococcus epidermidis. ATCC 12228, and Serratia marcescens. CCM 583, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined for the seven highly active plants that showed antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. ATCC 95047 (MRSA), E. coli., and C. albicans.. The MICs of active extracts ranged from 8 to 14.2 mg/mL while the MBCs were 14.2 to 24.4 mg/mL.