SCREENING OF SOME CUBAN MEDICINAL-PLANTS FOR ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY

The antimicrobial activities of 23 extracts of 12 Cuban plant species reported in traditional medicine were tested. The agar diffusion metho d was used to assess the activity against four bacteria and one yeast: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coil, Pseudomon as aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The results, evaluated as the diam eter of the inhibition zone of microbial growth, showed that nine extr acts were active against Gram-positive bacteria but only two of these proved to be also active against Gram-negative bacteria. None of the e xtracts inhibited the growth of the yeast. The most susceptible bacter ium was Staphylococcus aureus and the best antibacterial activity was shown by Schinus terebenthifolius.