Actividad antimicrobiana de Tectona grandis L. f., Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg. y Cedrela odorata L.

introduction: tectona grandis l. f (teak), bursera simaruba (l.) sarg. (mastic tree) y cedrela odorata l. (cedar) are wooden plants that are fundamentally used because of their wood. in cuba, some parts of these plants are employed in herbal medicine, although few studies have been conducted to find out their antimicrobial properties. objetives: to evaluate the antimicrobial activity in vitro of extracts from various parts of these species. methods: ethanolic extracts from t. grandis and b simaruba leaves and barks as well as from c.odorata leaves, bark and wood were prepared. they were tested against 8 bacterial strains (4 grampositive and 4 gramnegative) and against 12 strains of 7 candida genus yeast species by using minimized method of radial diffusion in agar medium in a single cylindrical cut layer. the minimal inhibitory concentration of these extracts against the susceptible microbial strains was estimated, and the minimal bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations were determined through double serial dilutions in broth with further transfer to agar medium. results: five out of the 7 ethanolic extracts showed antimicrobial activity. no antifungal activity was found against any of the yeast strains. of the five active extracts, 3 showed bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity whereas the rest exhibited bacteriostatic properties only. conclusions: the active extracts revealed their antimicrobial action against the grampositive bacteria only, and the best results were found in extracts from teak leaves and bark; mastic tree bark and cedar wood.