Abstract

Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide. Obtaining scientific information about the efficacy and safety of the plants is one of the researcher's goals. In this research, the flowering aerial parts of Eremurus persicus were collected from Golpayegan (Isfahan, Iran) in May 2010. The extract was tested for its antibacterial activity against 4 Gram-positive bacteria strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pyogenes) and 5 Gram-negative bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysantriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Its cytotoxic activity was also investigated using MTT assay. Here we reported the antibacterial activity of E. persicus against S. aureus (MIC = 125 mg/ml), B. cereus (MIC = 15.62 mg/ml), E. coli (MIC = 125 mg/ml), S. typhi (MIC = 31.25 mg/ml), S. dysantriae (MIC = 0.48 mg/ml) for the first time. Furthermore the cytotoxic potentials of E. persicus on two cell lines, HeLa and Caco-2, were studied.

Key words: Eremurus persicus, antibacterial activity, cytotoxic activity.