Ballota andreuzziana (Family Labiatae) is an endemic Libyan medicinal plant growing in the Gabal Alakhder region [1]. plants of the genus Ballota are used widely in the treatment of many ailments like nausea, vomiting, gastric ulcer, upper respiratory inflammation and as antimicrobials [2–3]. This is the first investigation of flavonoids which led to identification of two aglycones named 7-methoxy luteolin and 6,7-dimethoxy scutellarein in addition to three glycosides known as luteolin-7-O-glucoside, 6, 4'-dimethoxy scutellarein- 7-O-glucoside and quercetin-7-O-rhamnoglucoside. The structures of these compounds were established using different spectroscopic techniques (UV, MS & NMR). The study of antimicrobial activity of different extracts of the plant using disc diffusion method and measuring diameter of the inhibition zone against some Gram-pos, Gram-neg bacteria and fungi (M. phlei, S. aureus, B.subtilis, E. colaceae and C. albicans) revealed that the acetone extract exhibited the strongest activity against Mycobacterium phlei (I. Z.=16.33mm, conc.=150mg/ml), while butanol and chloroform extracts showed moderate activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis (I.Z.=11.4&11.0mm, conc.=150mg/ml) respectively.
Reference: [1] Jafri, S. and Gadi, A.(1985)“Flora of Libya“ Al Fateh univ., Fac. Of Sci., dept. of Bot., Tripoli, Libya.
[2] Couladis, M.; Chinon, I. B. and Tzakon, A. (2002) Phytother. Res., 16, 732–26.
[3] Citoglu, G. S.; Yitmaz, B. S.; Tarikahya, B. and Tipirdamaz. R.(2005) Chem. Nat. Compd., 14, 3.
