Antimicrobial activity of Argentine plants used in the treatment of infectious diseases. Isolation of active compounds from Sebastiania brasiliensis.

Different extracts of Sebastiania brasiliensis, Sebastiania klotszchiana, Polygonum punctatum, Lithraea molleoides and Myrcianthes cisplatensis, all plants growing in Entre Ríos Province and traditionally used as antiseptics, were tested against a set of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and fungi. All the species, with the exception of M. cisplatensis, presented activity against some of the microorganisms tested.

Inhibitory activity of xanthine-oxidase and superoxide scavenger properties of Inga verna subsp. affinis. Its morphological and micrographic characteristics.

Hexane, dichloromethane and ethanolic extracts of Inga verna subsp. affinis were evaluated as inhibitors of xanthine-oxidase and as scavengers of the superoxide produced by the action of the enzyme. Ethanolic but not hexane and dichloromethane extracts showed inhibitory properties of xanthine-oxidase (IC50=27.

Antiviral activity in Argentine medicinal plants.

In an ethnopharmacological screening of selected medicinal plants used in Argentina for the treatment of infectious diseases, aqueous extracts of five species were assayed in vitro to detect antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus serotype 7 (ADV-7). Polygonum punctatum, Lithraea molleoides, Sebastiania brasiliensis and Sebastiania klotzschiana but not Myrcianthes cisplatensis showed in vitro antiherpetic activity with 50% effective dose (ED50) ranging from 39 to 169 microg/ml. P.

In vitro antifungal evaluation and studies on mode of action of eight selected species from the Argentine flora.

Twenty nine extracts belonging to eight species of the Argentine flora reported as antifungal in folk medicine, were assayed for antifungal properties by using the agar dilution method, against a panel of yeasts, filamentous fungi as well as dermatophytes. Nine extracts belonging to six species, exhibited a broad spectrum of activity against Microsporum cants, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum and Epidermophyton floccosum, with MICs ranging from 25 to 900 μg/ml. A dichloromethanis extract of Polygonum ferrugineum was the most active extract with MICs from 25-50 μg/ml.