Antibacterial, antifungal and anthelmintic activities of root barks of Uvaria hookeri and Uvaria narum.

On a pharmacological screening, substantial antibacterial, antifungal and anthelmintic activities were observed for the hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of the root barks of Uvaria narum Wall. and Uvaria hookeri King. Chromatographic fractionation of these extracts led to the isolation of the triterpenes glutinol, glutinone, taraxerol, beta-sitosterol and Annonaceous acetogenins uvariamicins-I, II and III mixture, isodesacetyluvaricin, squamocin-28-one, narumicins-I and II stereoisomeric mixture, squamocin and panalicin. The acetogenins exhibited antimicrobial and anthelmintic activities in their individual screening comparable with standard drugs and hence their presence could be attributed to a great extent for the biocidal properties of U. narum and U. hookeri extracts.