Antimicrobial Activity of Five Endemic Asperula Species from Turkey

In this study, methanol and ether extracts of five endemic Asperula species (Rubiaceae) from Turkey (A. antalyensis, A. brevifolia, A. pseudochlorantha, A. purpurea subsp. apiculata and A. serotina), used in the traditional system of medicine, were tested for antimicrobial activity by the agar well diffusion method and the broth dilution method. The most active species were Asperula brevifolia and A. serotina which showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and maximum inhibition was shown by methanol extract of A. antalyensis against Candida albicans as 32 mm. Methanol extracts of Asperula species were among the most active with the MIC values ranging from 7.6 to 14.8 mg/mL.