ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL EFFECTS OF Geranium purpureum Vill. (Geraniaceae) EXTRACTS

Abstract

In this study the antibacterial and antifungal activities of extracted G. purpureum samples in acetone, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) from Trabzon province of Turkey were investigated. Antimicrobial activity of G. purpureum varied depending on the extract of samples, dosage of extracts, and the extraction solvents for all test microorganisms. Staphylococcus aureus, Stereptococcus salivarius, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Streptococcus pneumonia, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus mutans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus licheniformis, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtillis, Proteus vulgaris and Candida albicans were studied by using disc-diffusion and agar dilution method. The results indicated that each of the crude extracts of G. purpureum exhibited a more or less pronounced antibacterial and antifungal potency in the case of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. In the Gram-negative group, the most sensitive microorganism to G. purpureum was E. coli. In the Gram-positive group, the most sensitive microorganism to G. purpureum was S. mutans. The least sensitive microorganism was M. luteus. The results presented in this paper suggest that G. purpureum possesses a new antimicrobial compound that has an effect against some Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria and fungi.