jami and robert_synopsis medicinal plants

8/13/2019 Jami and Robert_Synopsis Medicinal Plants

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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).


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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 Common Name, English Common Name, Spanish Antibacterial Antifungal Wild/Cultivated

Acnistus arborescens Wild tobacco Gitite, Gallinero X Wild

Anacardium excelsum Cashew Espavel, Espave X Cultivated

Ficus maxima Ficus Higueron, Chilamate X Wild

Hymenaea courbaril Guapinol, Jatoba Guapinol, Jatoba X Wild

Neurolaena lobata Jackass bitters Gavilana, Gotas Amargas X X Wild

Psidium guajava Guava Guayaba, Guava X X Cultivated

Siparuna gesnirioides Limoncillo Limoncillo X Wild

Cassia reticulate Saragundi Saragundi X X Cultivated

Costus allenii Maas Caa Agria Caa Agria X 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.


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Figure 1: Primary and secondary tropical rain forest of La Congreja National Park outside of the village

of Mastatal, Costa Rica.


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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.

jami and robert_synopsis medicinal plants

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