Mutagenicity study and antibacterial activity of erythrina herbacea, zanthoxylum caribaeum and dendropanax arboreus

Abstract

This study presents the phytochemical characterization and antibacterial and mutagenic evaluation of Erythrina herbacea, Zanthoxylum caribaeum and Dendropanax arboreus, used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal and skin infections. The extracts contained mainly amines, phenols and alkaloids when were characterized by thin layer chromatography. The aqueous extract of D. arboreus and the hexane extracts of Z. caribaeum and E. herbacea were the most active presenting MICs of < 0.78, 0.78 and 1.56 μg/mL respectively. None of the extracts has mutagenic properties when were evaluated by Ames test. These results suggest that the extracts of these plants have good potential for be used as antibacterial agents.