Investigation on the antimicrobial activity of Acroptilon Repens (L.) DC

Acroptilon repens (L.) DC. (Russian knapweed)) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. This plant is native to Mongolia, western Turkestan, Iran, Turkish Armenia and Asia Minor [1]. The objective of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial activity of aerial parts extract of A. repens against 4 pathogenic bacteria.

The samples were collected from Takestan, Ghazvin province in june 2007. The CH₂Cl₂, EtOAc and MeOH extracts of the aerial parts of the plant obtained by percolation method were investigated for antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Bacillus subtilis.

The present study showed that all the extracts of A. repens had significant antibacterial activity against gram positive bacteria at dilutions of 1/10, whereas no effect was observed against gram negative bacteria. In comparison, the MeOH extract showed the most potent effect on B. subtilis.

A. Repens, with potential activity on S. aureus and B. subtilis can be considered as a prominent source for obtaining new natural antibiotics. So the isolation of the active compounds and understanding the mechanism of inhibition would be of interest.

Acknowledgement: This research has been supported financially by Student's Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences grant number: 7132–61–02–87.

References: 1. Maddox DM, Mayfield A, Poritz NH (1985) Weed Sci 33: 315–327.