Abstract

The antibacterial activities of twenty six extracts from ten selected plants used in traditional Australian Aboriginal medicines have been investigated. The extracts were tested for growth inhibition of broth cultures of four gram-positive bacteria (S. Aureus, MRSA, B. subtilis and M. luteus), two gram-negative bacteria (S. typhimurium and E. coli) bacteria and yeast (C. albicans). Twenty three of the extracts displayed antibacterial activities against one or more bacterial strain. The majority of the extracts showed greater activity against gram-positive bacteria. In particular, the extracts of the fruit and bark of Petalostigma pubescens and the extract of the bark of Euodia vitiflora displayed bioactivity against all of the tested organisms. Traditional Australian medicinal plant extracts were shown to have antibacterial activity against mutli-drug resistant MRSA bacteria.

Key words: Antibacterial activity, traditional medicine, medicinal plants.