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Anti‐Microbial Properties of Plants Native to the Philippines and to Minnesota
Author(s) -
Pethke Bridget Marie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1090.1
Subject(s) - microorganism , rhizome , biology , staphylococcus aureus , minimum inhibitory concentration , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , bacteria , antimicrobial , traditional medicine , medicine , genetics
A growing area of research is the identification of plant chemicals that exhibit anti‐microbial properties. This study involved analyzing the anti‐microbial activity of chemical extracts isolated from two plants that are members of the plant family Araceae, Epipremnum pinnatum and Arisaema triphyllum, plants native to the Philippines and Minnesota, respectively. To do this, plant chemicals were isolated by ethanol extraction, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays were completed to determine whether the extracts inhibited the growth of (MIC assay) and killed (MBC assay) the microorganisms. The microorganisms used were Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Results suggest that extracts from both plants are able to inhibit the growth of and kill the microorganisms tested. Plant extract isolated from the leaves of E. pinnatum exhibited the greatest anti‐microbial activity while extract isolated from the rhizomes of A. triphyllum was most effective at inhibiting and killing the microorganisms. Out of all three microorganisms, E. coli appeared to be least sensitive to the anti‐microbial activity of the plant extracts. Results from these studies suggest that extracts from the plants E. pinnatum and A. triphyllum may contain chemicals that would be useful in treating diseases caused by these microorganisms.