Herbi Tips – plant extracts
It has been proved that plant extracts have antibacterial and antifungal properties. They also make excellent cleaning agents. It is because of them that natural cleaning agents can be developed. Below are some examples of the effects of certain plant extracts.
1. Oils derived from such plants as: black pepper, clove, geranium, nutmeg, oregano, thyme have antibacterial properties – they have been proven to have effect on 25 different types of bacteria – they can be used in natural biocides.
2. Extracts from a variety of plants have been tested toward antifungal properties. Several groups of natural substances have been described to have such properties.
- Euphorbia, gaultheria or buckthorn contain phenols, tannins and salicylic acid, which all have antifungal properties.
- Selaginella, pepper plants and alpinia officinarum extracts contain flavonoids with such properties.
- In turn, calusena, tordylium or amburana extracts are rich in coumarin, which has strong antifungal properties.
- Quinones are behing the antifungal properties of kigelia africana and annona squamosa extracts.
- Saponins, well-known natural cleaning agents, may also display antifungal properties. They have been noted while researching tribulus terrestris, smilax and ypsilandra extracts.
- They have been noted while researching tribulus terrestris, smilax and ypsilandra extracts.
3. Natural ethereal oils may also be used in air fresheners instead of synthetic scent compositions.
4. Natural substances are also excellent insect repellents, and we know what a nuisance insects can be. Eucalyptus citriodora, syzygium aromaticum, oregano, lantana camara, basil, mint and thyme extracts contain various substances (e.g. citronellal, geraniol, linalool, citral, limonene, etc.) which repel insects for up to several hours.
[sources: „Plant-based insect repellents: a review of their efficacy, development and testing” M.F. Maia, S.J. Moore, Malaria Journal (Suppl 1) :S11, 15.03.2011]
„Search for antibacterial and antifungal agents from selected Indian medicinal plants” V. Prashanth Kucmar, Neelam S. Chauhan, Harish Padh, M. Rajani Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol 107, 2, Sept 2006; Natural products – antifungal agents derived from plants” Tasleem Arif , J.D. Bhosale , Naresh Kumar , T.K. Mandal , R.S. Bendre , G.S. Lavekar & Rajesh Dabur, Journal of Asian Natural Products Research, Volume 11, 2009]
“Antimicrobial agents from plants: antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils” H. J. D. Dorman, S. G. Deans, J. Of Applied Microbiology, Vol 88, 2, Feb 2000]