1d

Fitoterapia 76 (2003) 592–596

Short report

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of
Indonesian ethnomedical plants

E. Goun, G. Cunningham, D. Chu, C. Nguyen, D. Miles*

Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA

Received 20 November 2002; accepted 9 April 2003

Abstract

Methylene chloride and methanol extracts of 20 Indonesian plants with ethnomedical uses
have been assessed for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal properties by disk diffusion
method. Extracts of the six plants: Terminalia catappa, Swietenia mahagoni Jacq., Phyllanthus
acuminatus, Ipomoea spp., Tylophora asthmatica and Hyptis brevipes demonstrated high
activity in this bioassay system. These findings should stimulate the search for novel, natural
product such as new antibacterial and antifungal agents.
ᮊ 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Indonesian plants; Antibacterial; Antifungal activity

Plants. The list of plants studied is given in Table 1. The plant materials were
collected throughout Indonesia. Voucher herbarium specimens were made and kept
at the Regional Center for Tropical Biology located in Bogor, Indonesia. Each
voucher specimen has a number corresponding to the species collected and identified
by Prof. DH Miles.

Uses in traditional medicine. Indonesia offers an abundance of anecdotal medicinal
plants species. Although archipelago covers only 1.3% of the earth’s surface, it

*Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (D. Miles).

0367-326X/03/$ - see front matter ᮊ 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0367-326X(03)00117-5

Table 1
Antibacterial and antifungal activity of some Indonesian plants

Plant Extracta Concentration Antibacterial activity Yeast Antifungal activityb
mgyml CA PUc RSc
BSq SAq ECy XCy qq SRc AFd PPd
y y y q q y
Terminalia catappa A 100 –y
L. (Combretaceae) y y y y qq
B 100 yy y y y qqqq y y q y
Sesbania grandiflora A 100 yy y qq y
Pers (Fibaceae) y y y y y
B 100 yy y qq y y y qqq y y E. Goun et al. / Fitoterapia 76 (2003) 592–596
Swietenia mahagoni A 100 qq qq DG qqq qq
Jacq. (Meliaceae) y y y y y
B 100 yy y y y yq y y y
Urena lobata L. A 100 yy y yy
(Malvaceae) y y y y y
B 100 yy y y y yy y qq q
Swietenia mahagoni L. A 9.3 yy y yy
(Meliaceae) (leaf) y y y y y
B 100 yy y y y yy y y y
Mussaenda pubescens A 100 yy y yy
Ait. f. (Rubiaceae) y y y q y
B 100 yy y y y q qq y q y
Erythrina variegata L. A 100 yy y qq
(Fabaceae) y y y q y
B 100 yy y y y yy q q y
Swietenia mahagoni A 100 qq y qq q
L. (Meliaceae)-pericarp y y y q y
B 100 yy y y y yq q qq y
Phyllanthus acuminatus A 100 yy y qq y
Vahl (Euphorbiaceae) y y y y y
B 100 yy y y y qqq q y y y
Morinda citrifolia L. A 100 yy y y q
(Rubiaceae) y y q q y
B 100 yy y DG qq q q y q
Graptophyllum pictum (L.) A 100 y q qq
Griff. (Acanthaceae) y q y y
B 82.7
yy y yy

593

Table 1 (Continued) A 100 yy yy yy qq qy 594 E. Goun et al. / Fitoterapia 76 (2003) 592–596
Antidesma bunius (L.)
B 36.5 yy yy yy yy yy
Spreng A 100 y* y yy yy yy yy

Moringa oleifera Lam. B 100 yy yy yq yy yy
(Moringaceae) A 100 DG y yy yy qy yq

Crotalaria juncea B 100 yy yy yq yy yy
L. (Leguminosae) A 100 yy y y y qq qq yy

Ipomoea spp., B 100 yy y y y qq qq qqqq y y
(Convolvulaceae) A 100 yy yy yy y q q y

Elaeocarpus grandiflorus B 100 yy y y y qq yy yy
Smith (Elaeocarpaceae) A 100 yy yy yy yy y DG

Tylophora asthmatica B 100 yy y y y qqqq y y yy
(Asclepiadaceae) A 100 q qq
B 100 y qqq q q y q qq
Hyptis brevipes A
y DG y y y y yy yy
Alstonia scholaris (L.) B
R.Br., (Apocynaceae) A yy yy yq yq yy
yq yy yy yy yy
Catharanthus roseus (L.) B
G. Don (Apocynaceae)

yy yy yq yq yy

ES, Escherichia coli; SA, Staphylococcus aureus; XC, Xanthomonas campestris; BS, Bacillus subtilis; CA, Candida albicans; PU, Pythium ultimum; RS, Rhizoctonia solani; SR, Sclerotium
rolfsii; AF, Aspergillus fumigatus; PP, Phytophthora parasitica.

DG, decreased growth.
a Indication of type of extract as follows: A, methylene chloride extract; B, methanol extract.
b q Is 25% or less than the control; qq, equal to the control; qqq, 25–50% more than the control; qqqq, 50% and more than the control. Dithane M-45 (Roth and Haas) was
used as an antifungal control on paper discs prepared from a 10 000-ppm solution. Standard disks containing 10 mg Streptomycin (Difco) were used as an antibacterial control.
c Human fungi.
d Agrocultural fungi.

E. Goun et al. / Fitoterapia 76 (2003) 592–596 595

contains almost 15% of all higher plants w1x. Considering that only a small
percentage (-10%) of the known plants have been examined, there is still a need
for the systematic exploration of Indonesian plants. All together, Indonesia offers
over 40 000 w1x species of flowering plants and 10% of the total flora is thought to
have pharmacological value w2x. In order to further examine the potential interest

for new active compounds, crude extracts of 20 Indonesian plants used in traditional

medicine have been screened for their antibacterial and antifugal activities. Leaves
of Phyllanthus acuminatus w3x and bark of Alstonia scholaris w4x were used by local
people to treat malaria. The leaves of Mussaenda pubescens w5x and Moringa
oleifera w6x were reported to be utilized by women in Indonesia as abortifacients.

Several medicinal plants were used in folk medicine for prevention and treatment
of different types of cancer; they are the leaves of Terminalia catappa w7x, flowers
of Hyptis brevipes w8x, herbal parts of Morinda citrifolia, w9,10x and Catharanthus
roseus w11x. The antibiotic and anti-inflammatory activities of leaves of M. pubescens
w5x, Graptophyllum pictum w12x and seeds of M. oleifera w13x were also widely
utilized by local people. The leaves of Elaeocarpus grandiflorus w14x and T. catappa
w15x have been traditionally utilized to treat skin diseases. The extracts of the leaves
of C. roseus w16,17x and the bark, stem, root, leaf and fruit of M. citrifolia w10x
were also used traditionally as a folk remedy for the treatment of diabetes.

Previously isolated classes of constituents. Several tannins and sterols were isolated
from T. catappa w18x, Sesbania grandiflora w19x and Tylophora asthmatica w20x.
Isolation of saponins were previously reported from S. grandiflora w19x and M.
pubescens w5x. Several limonoids were previously isolated from Swietenia mahagoni
L. and S. mahagoni Jacq. w21x. Isolation of triterpenes was reported on S. mahagoni
Jacq. w22x, M. pubescens w23x, G. pictum w24x and Antidesma bunius w25x. Several
alkaloids and flavonoids were isolated from G. pictum w12,24x and T. asthmatica
w20x.

Tested material. Extracts of the dry aerial parts, with exception of S. mahagoni

Jacq. whose seeds were used instead, were prepared by Miles et al. w26x. The plants
(;200 g dw) were Soxhlet-extracted in sequence with methylene chloride (24 h)
and methanol (24 h). The solvent was removed in vacuum to yield methylene
chloride (A fraction) and methanol extracts (B fraction).

Studied activity. Antibacterial and antifungal bioassays of crude extracts by the
disk diffusion method w26x.

Used micro-organisms. Listed in Table 1. Micro-organisms cultures obtained from
ATCC.

596 E. Goun et al. / Fitoterapia 76 (2003) 592–596

Results. Reported in Table 1.

Conclusions. The data compiled in Table 1 reveal that the crude extracts of many
Indonesian plant species, especially those with ethnomedical uses, have been
assessed for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal properties. However, relatively few
active compounds have been isolated. We selected mostly those species which had
been previously tested for the activity against only one type of the bacteria or fungi
listed in Table 1 or not tested at all. These species had not then been further
investigated to determine the nature of the constituents likely to be responsible for
the activity. Examples of species, which appear to be among the most active,
include: T. catappa, S. mahagoni Jacq., P. acuminatus, Ipomoea spp., T. asthmatica,
and H. brevipes. These findings should stimulate the search for novel, natural
products such as new antibacterial and antifungal agents.

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