Abstract

The bark of Ceiba aesculifolia subsp. parvifolia is used for the treatment of diabetes, kidneys maladies, tumors, gastritis, and wounds by the people of San Rafael, Coxcatlan, Puebla. The aim of this work was to investigate antimicrobial activity, general toxicity, and antioxidant activity of the bark of this species. The methanol extract was obtained by maceration. After obtaining the methanol extract (MeOH1), methanol (MeOH2) and hexane (H) fractions were obtained. The antibacterial and antifungal activities were evaluated through the disc-diffusion method. The general toxicity test was carried out by using brine shrimp Artemia salina. The quenching of free radicals was evaluated by the decolouration of a methanol solution of diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH). Total phenolics were determined by Folin Ciocalteu reagent. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were sensitive to MeOH1 and MeOH2; MeOH2 had a bactericidal effect on Staphylococcus epidermidis(minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 0.75 mg/ml) and Vibrio cholera Tor (MIC = 0.50 mg/ml). MeOH2 showed inhibition of DPPH radical (SC₅₀ = 6.15 μg/ml), 28% of total phenolics and was toxic against A. salina (LC₅₀ = 2.82 μg/ml). The methanol extract showed a variety of different compounds such as terpens, isoflavones and a coumarin. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, and toxicity activities and a qualitative chemical characterization of C. aesculifolia subsp. parvifolia are reported here for the first time.

Key words: Ceiba aesculifolia, Bombacaceae, medicinal bark, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity.