BIOLOGICAL SCREENING OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL-PLANTS FROM PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

Based on ethnopharmacological literature, 17 species of medicinal plan ts used in the traditional medicine in Papua New Guinea were collected . Extracts of different polarities were tested in a preliminary biolog ical screening for their antimicrobial (Escherichia coli, Bacillus sub tilis, Micrococcus luteus and Penicillium oxalicum) and molluscicidal activity against Biomphalaria glabrata as well as for their toxicity t o brine shrimp. The pretreated plant extracts were also investigated f or their ability to inhibit protein kinase C and tyrosine-specific pro tein kinase of epidermal growth factor receptor. Furthermore, all plan ts were screened for the presence of alkaloids.