Research Information System
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY, vol.95, pp.287-296, 2004 (Journal Indexed in SCI)
Traditional medicine in North–West of Turkey (Sakarya province) were studied during a 2 months field study by interviewing local
informants from several villages. Plant species used to treat infections were tested for antimicrobial activity.
Information was collected for 46 plant species from 30 families and for 5 animal species. Twenty four of the plant species were cultivated.
Most used families were Asteraceae, Cucurbitaceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae and the most used plants were
Artemisia absinthium, Equisetum
telmateia
, Lavandula stoechas, Melissa officinalis, Tussilago farfara and Urtica dioica. A total of 139 medicinal uses were obtained. Plants
are used mainly for infectious diseases (18%), for neurological and psychological disorders (13.7%), cardiovascular disorders (13%), skin
disorders (12.2%) and respiratory disorders (10.1%).
Extracts were tested in vitro for antimicrobial activity against
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 65538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC
12228,
Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Klebsiella pneumonia ATCC 4352, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 1539, Salmonella typhi, Shigella
flexneri, Proteus mirabilis
and Candida albicans ATCC 10231, using microbroth dilution technique according to National Committee for
Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). This research showed that
Arum maculatum, Datura stramonium, Geranium asphodeloides and
Equisetum telmateia
petroleum ether extracts had MIC values of 39.1 g/ml, 78.1 g/ml, 78.1 g/ml and 39.1 g/ml, respectively against
Staphylococcus epidermidis
. Datura stramonium petroleum ether extract had a MIC value of 39.1 g/ml against Escherichia coli and Trachystemon
orientalis
ethanol extract had a MIC value of 39.1 g/ml against Escherichia coli. The antimicrobial activity of Arum maculatum,
Equisetum telmateia
, Geranium asphodeloides, Plantago intermedia, Senecio vulgaris and Trachystemon orientalis has been reported here
for the first time.