Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of Some Malaysian Flowering Plants

A total of 43 extracts from 21 species of Malaysian flowering plants were screened for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. Antimicrobial activity was tested against fungi, including yeast and candida, as well as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and cytotoxicity was assayed using the CEM-SS and HT-29 cell lines. The methanol extracts of the roots and stems of Plumeria acutifolia showed the highest antimicrobial activity, i.e. against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida lipolytica, and mostly moderate activity against the other microbes such as Aspergillus ochraceous and Saccharomyces lipolytica. Phyllanthus emblica also showed moderate activity especially that of the methanol extracts. The methanol extract of the roots of Plumeria acutifolia showed the strongest cytotoxic activity $(CD_{50}=\;3\;{\mu}g/ml)$. Most of Zingiberaceae species gave negative results for antimicrobial activity and showed low cytotoxic activity.