Antiprotozoal and Antimicrobial Activities of<i>Centaurea</i>. Species Growing in Turkey

Abstract

Extracts obtained from different parts of 10 Centaurea L.. (Asteraceae) species [C. calolepis. Boiss., C. cariensis. Boiss subsp. maculiceps. (O. Schwarz) Wagenitz, C. cariensis. Boiss. subsp. microlepis. (Boiss.) Wagenitz, C. hierapolitana. Boiss., C. cadmea. Boiss., C. reuterana. Boiss. var. reuterana, C. cyanus. L., C. depressa. Bieb., C. urvillei. DC. subsp. urvillei., and C. ensiformis. P.H. Davis], most of them endemic in Turkey, were evaluated for in vitro. antiprotozoal activities (against Plasmodium falciparum. and Leishmania donovani.) and antimicrobial activities (against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Cryptococcus neoformans, Mycobacterium intracellulare, Aspergillus fumigatus., and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.). The chloroform extract of C. hierapolitana. demonstrated activity against chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum. clones with IC50 values of 7 and 7.3 µg/ml, respectively. The highest antileishmanial activities among the extracts were observed with the chloroform extract of C. hierapolitana. (IC50 = 8.7 µg/ml, IC90 = 17 µg/ml). Hexane extracts of C. depressa. and C. urvillei. subsp. urvillei. showed antifungal activity against Candida krusei. (IC50 = 15 and 45 µg/ml, respectively). Finally, the chloroform extract of C. urvillei. subsp. urvillei. had activity against Cryptococcus neoformans. with an IC50 value of 40 µg/ml.