Antimicrobial Effects of Verbascum georgicum Bentham Extract

The methanol extract of Verbascum georgicum Bentham (Scrophulariaceae) was investigated for its in-vitro antimicrobialproperties. A total of 143 microorganisms belonging to 56 bacteria and 4 fungi and a yeast species were studied using the disk diffusion method and microdilution assays. The results indicated that the methanol extract of V. geopgicum had an inhibitory effecton the growth of all Candida albicans isolates and 17 strains in 10 different species of bacteria, namely Bacillus amyloliquefaciens,B. subtilis, B. cereus, B. pumilus, B. megaterium, B. lentimorbus, B. licheniformis, Pseudomonas putida, P. syringae and Escherichiacoli, at different concentrations ranging from 37.5 to 300 µg/ml. However, it did not show antifungal activity against the isolatesof the 4 fungal species tested. Thus, the results suggest that V. georgicum extract possesses compounds with antimicrobial properties that might be utilized for developing new drugs.