Growth-inhibiting Effects of Brazilian and Oriental Medicinal Plants on Human Intestinal Bacteria

Methanol extracts of 27 Brazilian plant samples and 10 oriental medicinal plant samples (27 families), using spectrophotometric and paper disc agar diffusion methods under anaerobic conditions, were tested in vitro for their growth-inhibiting activities against Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacteroides fragilis. The responses varied with bacterial strains, plant species, and tissues sampled. In a test with B. longum and B. bifidum(20 mg/disc), extracts of Acanthopanax sessilifolinus stem bark and Ampelozizyphus amazonicus leaves strongly inhibited the growth of B. longum, whereas other plant samples did not inhibit any intestinal bacteria tested. At 5 mg/disc, adding extracts of Aralia eleta, Euterpe oleracea, and Syzygium guineense to the media strongly inhibited the growth of C. perfringens and B. fragilis without growth inhibition of B. adolescentis, B. longum, and B. bifidum. Extracts of Jacaranda mimosifolia and Ulmus paraifolia significantly inhibited the growth of C. perfringens and B. fragilis as well as B. adolescentis. These results may be indications of at least one of the pharmacological actions of the five Brazilian plants but not oriental medicinal plants tested.