Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Centaureabruguierana (Asteraceae) from Iraq

Abstract

The methanol and aqueous extracts of Centaureabruguierana. (Asteraceae) from Iraq were tested for their biological activity against two Gram positive , stwo Gram negative bacteria and four fungal species by using agar well diffusion method . The crude methanol extract (100mg/ml) and its dilutions and the crude aqueous extract( 100mg/ml) showed biological activity against all bacteria and fungi studied. Compared with the aqueous extracts , methanol extracts, particularly the crude one, were more bioactive against bacteria and fungi studied . Among the studied microbes, E.coli, Staphylococcus aureusand Microsporumcanis were the most sensitive species to C.bruguierana extracts tested. Methanol extract at all concentrations and aqueous extract at high concentrations showed close or more antibacterial activity( except in case of P.auruginosa) than that of the bacterial control ( tetracycline) . The crude methanol extract was more bioactive against all fungi studied than the fungal control ( nystatin ).This is the first report on the antibacterial and antifungal activities of C. bruguierana extracts from Iraq and its bordering countries.