| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lower respiratory tract infections are a major cause of illness and death. Such infections are common in intensive care units (ICU) and their lethality persists despite advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention. In Mexico, some plants are used in traditional medicine to treat respiratory diseases or ailments such as cough, bronchitis, tuberculosis and other infections. Medical knowledge derived from traditional societies has motivated searches for new bioactive molecules derived from plants that show potent activity against bacterial pathogens. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hexanic, chloroformic (CLO), methanolic (MET) and aqueous extracts from various plants used in Mexican traditional medicine on various microorganisms associated with respiratory disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>thirty-five extracts prepared from nine plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of respiratory infections were evaluated against 15 control bacterial species and clinical isolates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both chloroformic (CLO) and methanolic (MET) extracts of <it>Larrea tridentata </it>were active against Methicillin-resistant <it>S. aureus</it>, <it>B. subtilis </it>and <it>L. monocytogenes</it>. A MET extract of <it>L. tridentata </it>was also active against <it>S. aureus</it>, <it>S. pneumoniae</it>, <it>S. maltophilia</it>, <it>E. faecalis </it>and <it>H. influenzae </it>and the CLO extract was active against <it>A. baumannii</it>. An Aqueous extract of <it>M. acumitata </it>and a MET extract of <it>N. officinale </it>were active against <it>S. pneumoniae</it>. CLO and MET extracts of <it>L. tridentata </it>were active against clinical isolates of <it>S. aureus</it>, <it>S. pneumoniae </it>and <it>E. faecalis</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, our results support the potential use of <it>L. tridentata </it>as a source of antibacterial compounds.</p>
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