Haematoxylon braziletto

Aqueous extracts of the heartwood of Haematoxylon braziletto and H. campechianum were shown to possess antibacterial activity (59). They are bactericidal for Salmonella typhosa and Micrococcus pyrogenes var. aureus and bacteriostatic for Escherichia coli. The active principle has not been identified unequivocally. However it has been suggested that the antibacterial activity is due to brazilin (21) or its oxidation product brazilein (104) which is the actual pigment. Neither the unpigmented sapwood nor the bark of the plant contain the active compound. The comparable hematoxylin derivatives are somewhat less active. 

Pratt, R., and Y. Yuzuriha Antibacterial Activity of the Heartwood of Haematoxylon braziletto. J. Amer. Pharm. Assoc. 48, 69 (1959). 

Brazilin and hematoxylin were first isolated a long time ago from the heart wood of Caesalpinia spp. and Haematoxylon campechianum L. (Leguminosae) respectively. Aqueous plant extracts have been widely used as mordant dyes especially on silk and furs (63). The extract of the Mexican species H. braziletto was found to exhibit antibacterial activity (59). It was assumed that these compounds belong to the class of the neoflavonoids (20, 31). 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , ]

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