Antimicrobial activity of aqueous and methanol extracts of Juniperus oxycedrus L.

Aqueous and methanol extracts of the leaves of Juniperus oxycedrus were investigated for their in vitro antimicrobial properties. The plant was collected from Pelitli Village of Gebze, Kocaeli, in the Marmara region of Turkey. Juniperus oxycedrus is widely used as traditional folk medicine in Turkey for treatment of different infectious diseases. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts against 143 laboratory strains belonging to 56 bacterial species, and 31 isolates of 5 fungi species were evaluated based on the inhibition zone using the disc-diffusion assay, minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values. The aqueous extract of J. oxycedrus had no antimicrobial effect against the test microorganisms whereas the methanol extract had inhibitory effects on the growth of 57 strains of 24 bacterial species in the genera of Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Brevundimonas, Brucella, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Micrococcus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, and Xanthomonas. In addition I I Candida albicans isolates at a concentration of 31.25-250 mug/ml were also inhibited. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.