A MICROBIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF MEDICINAL-PLANTS USED BY THE MAYA PEOPLE OF SOUTHERN MEXICO

A microbiological evaluation was conducted on those medicinal plants most frequently used to treat gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases by Tzeltal and Tzotzil communities in the highlands of Chiapas. The results obtained showed that many of the species induced antimicrobial activity in vitro. The present study allowed selection of three groups of plants with potent effect against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria and Candida albicans. It was also demonstrated that 63% of the botanical species that showed antimicrobial properties, enhanced (46%) or induced (17%) the effect under exposure of the plant extracts to UV-A light. In the search for new molecules with therapeutic value, the present screening offers a preliminary selection of groups of botanical species; within each, there are several representatives that merit further evaluation as potential antibiotics and photosensitizers.