Antimicrobial activity of the petrol-ether and ethyl-acetate extracts of melilotus officinalis (l.) Pall, melilotus albus medic. And melitis melissophyllum l.

The experiment was carried out at the chemical and microbiological laboratories of the Faculty of Agronomy and at Health Institute in Cacak. As a test organisms for examination of antimicrobial activity of herb extracts from Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall (yellow melilot), Melilotus albus Medic. (white melilot) and Melitis melissophyllum L. (honey balm) the following species were used: Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus haemoliticus A, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Sterile and clean paper filters 11 mm in diameter were placed over the surface of the nutritional agar, and petrol ether and ethyl acetate extracts of Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall (yellow melilot), Melilotus albus Medic. (white melilot) and Melitis melissophyllum L. (honey balm) as well as the extragents themselves were applied over these filters by means of Paster's pipette. Antimicrobial activity of the petrol ether extracts from the examined herbs was not noticed, whereas ethyl acetate extracts of the yellow melilot and honey balm was. The ethyl acetate extracts of the yellow melilot affected all the pathogenic microorganisms, with the exception of Escherichia coli, whereas those of honey balm affected only Salmonela enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.