Antimicrobial Properties of Traditional Medicinal Plants of Costa Rica

Jami Kovatch & Robert Tournay UW Tacoma Costa Rica Field Studies 2011
Covering only a small percentage of the global terrain, but containing at least 50% of the Earths plant and animal species, tropical rainforests harbor a wide array of organisms which have yet to be identified or studied in depth. It is from these tropical forests that indigenous peoples, through many generations of trial and error, have developed extensive oral catalogs of many tropical plants possessing medicinal qualities. Indeed, the use of plants for medicinal purposes is not limited to the indigenous peoples of the world. The World Health Organization estimates that in some Asian and African nations, 80% of the population depends on traditional medicine for primary health care. With an estimated 25% of the drugs sold in the developed world based on living organisms, Western medicine has relied heavily on plants for their medicinal qualities as well. Considering the small percentage of organisms that have yet to be identified and analyzed for medicinal value, the potential of the tropical rainforests to provide new pharmaceuticals is significant. The objective of our study was to investigate the purported antimicrobial properties of several traditionally used medicinal plants of Costa Rica. Twenty-one plant samples collected in Costa Rica were tested for both antibacterial and antifungal properties. We found nine of the plants tested to have measurable inhibitory properties against either bacteria or yeast, and in some cases both (Table 1).

Of the nine plant species that tested positive for antimicrobial properties, six of them only grow wild in the tropical rain forest. Our results provide a compelling reason for conserving and protecting the biodiversity held within the tropical rain forest.

Species Acnistus arborescens Anacardium excelsum Ficus maxima Hymenaea courbaril Neurolaena lobata Psidium guajava Siparuna gesnirioides Cassia reticulate Costus allenii Maas

Common Name, English Wild tobacco Cashew Ficus Guapinol, Jatoba Jackass bitters Guava Limoncillo Saragundi Caa Agria

Common Name, Spanish Gitite, Gallinero Espavel, Espave Higueron, Chilamate Guapinol, Jatoba Gavilana, Gotas Amargas Guayaba, Guava Limoncillo Saragundi Caa Agria

Antibacterial X

Antifungal

Wild/Cultivated Wild

X X X X X X X X X X X

Cultivated Wild Wild Wild Cultivated Wild Cultivated Wild

Table 1. Traditionally used medicinal plants of Costa Rica that tested positive for antimicrobial properties. Note: If checked for both antibacterial and antifungal, then there were positive results for both properties.

Figure 1: Primary and secondary tropical rain forest of La Congreja National Park outside of the village of Mastatal, Costa Rica.

Figure 2: Limoncillo (Siparuna gesnirioides) tested positive for both antibacterial and antifungal properties. Collected from secondary tropical rain forest on the property of Rancho Mastatal Environmental Learning Center.

Figure 3: Geraldo Perz, a local medicine man from the Zapaton Indigenous Reservation. Giving a presentation on traditionally used medicinal plants of Costa Rica at Rancho Mastatal Environmental Learning Center.