Diferential sensitivity of Bacillus sp. isolated from archive materials to plant extract

GUIAMET P.; DE LA PAZ NARANJO J.; ARENAS P.; GÓMEZ DE SARAVIA S.

Pharmacologyonline

Universita degli Studi di Salerno

Lugar: Salerno, Italia; Año: 2008 vol. 3 p. 649 - 658

1827-8620

  Books, photographs, maps and other paper-based documents are vulnerable to damage caused not only by high temperature, excess humidity or light, but also by activity of microbial contaminants. Libraries and archives have traditionally relied on the use of chemicals for both routine prevention and observed infestation. However, these chemicals often fail to prevent infestation, and their subsequent use cannot repair the damage. Apart from this, use of chemicals is currently less due to growing awareness of their dangerous health effects on personnel using them, the potential for damage to collections treasured in these  institutions, and environmental pollution. Modern methods such as use of plant extracts have shown promising results for the prevention and treatment of microbial contaminants in archival materials. The goal of this work is to study the antimicrobial activity of extracts from Cichorium intybus L., Arctium lappa L, Centaurea cyanus L , Plantago major L., Medicago sativa L., Allium sativum L., Eucalyptus citriodora Hook, Pinus caribaea Mor and Piper auritum Kunth, against Bacillus sp., a microorganism isolated from photographs deposited in the Historical Archive of Museo of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Diameter of inhibition halos varied according to the plant extract used. Keywords: Biodeterioration, Bacillus sp, Antimicrobial activity, Plant extracts, Photographic paper, inhibition halo.