Comparative study of biological activities of different extractive solutions from Eugenia uniflora L

ZAMPINI I. C; VATTUONE M. A; SAMPIETRO A. R.; ISLA M. I

Tafí del Valle. Tucumán. Argentina.

Jornada; XVI Jornadas Científicas de la Sociedad de Biología de Tucumán; 1999

Sociedad de Biología de Tucumán

Eugenia uniflora L. (arrayán) is a Mírtaceae native of the subtropical region of América. Its leaves contain a large arrangement of compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, essential oils, phenolic acids and steroids. The ínhibitory effect on the enzyme xantin-oxidase is the responsible for the use of this plant as diuretic and tonic-stimulant. The purpose of this work was the comparative study of some biological activities of different pharmaceutical formulations such as tinctures and decoctions. The effect of plant extracts on cultures of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter sp., S. agalactiae, S, piogenes. S. aureus and X. campestris was assayed. Susceptibility bacterial assays to the plant extracts were performed by agar diffusion techniques. Higher bacterial susceptibility was found with Gram (+) than with Gram (-) bacteria. The tinctures were more efficient than the deccoctions. The evaluation of the free-radical scavenging activity of the extractive solutions showed that both preparations had good activity (95 %). Consequently E. uniflora is a promising plant for pharmaceutical applications.