Antimicrobial studies on three species of Hypericum from the Canary Islands

The antimicrobial activity of several extracts and fractions of the aerial parts of Hypericum canariense, Hypericum glandulosum and Hypericum grandifolium was investigated using the disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods against twelve reference microorganisms (eight bacterial and four fungal strains). The methanol extract and chloroform fraction of H. canariense, as well as the methanol extracts, butanol and chloroform fractions of both H. glandulosum and H. grandifolium exhibited a good antibacterial activity against four Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus var. mycoides, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and the Gram-negative bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica with the diameters of growth inhibition area in the range 10-25 mm and MICs values between 0.03 and 0.29 mg/ml. Neither the infusions and aqueous fractions of the species studied nor the butanol fraction of H. canariense showed any antibacterial activity against the tested microorganisms. Amongst the active extracts, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination showed that the H. canariense chloroform fraction was the most active against M. luteus, S. aureus and S. epidermidis. No antifungal activity was seen with any of the extracts or fractions tested. The results of this study support the use of these species in Canarian traditional medicine to treat skin infections.