%0 Journal Article
%T Antimicrobial Activity of Indigofera suffruticosa
%A S nia Pereira Leite
%A Jeymesson Raphael Cardoso Vieira
%A Paloma Lys de Medeiros
%A Roberta Maria Pereira Leite
%A Vera L¨²cia de Menezes Lima
%A Haroudo Satiro Xavier
%A Edeltrudes de Oliveira Lima
%J Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
%D 2006
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1093/ecam/nel010
%X Various organic and aqueous extracts of leaves of Indigofera suffruticosa Mill (Fabaceae) obtained by infusion and maceration were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. The extracts were tested against 5 different species of human pathogenic bacteria and 17 fungal strains by the agar-solid diffusion method. Most of the extracts were devoid of antifungal and antibacterial activities, except the aqueous extract of leaves of I. suffruticosa obtained by infusion, which showed strong inhibitory activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 5000 ¦Ìg ml−1. The MIC values to dermatophyte strains were 2500 ¦Ìg ml−1 against Trichophyton rubrum (LM-09, LM-13) and Microsporum canis. This study suggests that aqueous extracts of leaves of I. suffruticosa obtained by infusion can be used in the treatment of skin diseases caused by dermatophytes.
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2006/839056/abs/