Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal barks used in Peruvian Amazon.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of six barks traditionally used in Calleria District (Ucayali Department, Peru) for treating conditions likely to be associated with microorganisms. Ethanol extracts of stem barks of Abuta grandifolia (Menispermaceae), Dipteryx micrantha (Leguminosae), Cordia alliodora (Boraginaceae), Naucleopsis glabra (Moraceae), Pterocarpus rohrii (Leguminosae), and root bark of Maytenus macrocarpa (Celastraceae) were tested against nine bacteria and one yeast using the broth microdilution method. All plants possessed significant antimicrobial effect, however, the extract of Naucleopsis glabra exhibited the strongest activity against Gram-positive bacteria (MICs ranging from 62.5 to 125 μg/ml), while the broadest spectrum of action was shown by the extract of Maytenus macrocarpa, which inhibited all the strains tested with MICs ranging from 125 to 250 μg/ml.