Research

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis and some other medicinal plants commonly used in South-East Asia

Lai W Chan¹, Emily LC Cheah¹, Constance LL Saw², Wanyu Weng¹ and Paul WS Heng^1*

• * Corresponding author: Paul WS Heng phapaulh@nus.edu.sg

Author Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543

² Center for Cancer Prevention Research, Department of Pharmaceutics, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, 160 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

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Chinese Medicine 2008, 3:15 doi:10.1186/1749-8546-3-15

Published: 28 November 2008

Abstract

Background

Eight medicinal plants were tested for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Different extraction methods were also tested for their effects on the bioactivities of the medicinal plants.

Methods

Eight plants, namely Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis (Laliaocao), Folium Murraya Koenigii (Jialiye), Rhizoma Arachis Hypogea (Huashenggen), Herba Houttuyniae (Yuxingcao), Epipremnum pinnatum (Pashulong), Rhizoma Typhonium Flagelliforme (Laoshuyu), Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Houpo) and Rhizoma Imperatae (Baimaogen) were investigated for their potential antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

Results

Extracts of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis had the strongest activities against M. Smegmatis, C. albicans, B. subtilis and S. aureus. Boiled extracts of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis, Folium Murraya Koenigii, Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis and Herba Houttuyniae demonstrated greater antioxidant activities than other tested medicinal plants.

Conclusion

Among the eight tested medicinal plants, Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis showed the highest antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Different methods of extraction yield different spectra of bioactivities.