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

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. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.