Anti-microbial Activity of Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke Roots

We investigated the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the antimicrobial activity of ethanol extracts obtained from Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke. The ethanol extracts of S. lappa C.B. Clarke were fractionated with various solvents (n-hexane, chloroform, and n-butanol). The antimicrobial activity of S. lappa C.B. Clarke was examined by disc-diffusion and micro-dilution susceptibility assays with six food-borne pathogens, and compared to that of the synthetic antibiotics. It is found that the S. lappa C.B. Clarke ethanol extract and n-hexane fraction have strong activity against B. cereus and V. parahaemolyticus strains compared to ampicillin. The inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values of hexane fraction against L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, and B. subtilis were 62.5, 250 and 500 ppm, respectively. Therefore, these data suggest that S. lappa C.B. Clarke may be useful as antimicrobial agents against food-borne pathogens.