Antibacterial Properties of Plants— -Bushnell, et al 
179 
ite plants listed in Table 4 exerts some effect, 
at least in vitro , against representatives of 
bacterial agents of disease. Perhaps, as the 
users of' these simples were daring enough to 
learn, they are even more effective when they 
are applied to the diseased body, when ■ the 
body can contribute the weapons in its own 
armory to the attack upon the invading bac- 
teria. Perhaps, too, when they are com- 
pounded with other herbs in the complex 
recipes which many of the kahunas pre- 
scribed, the total effect of the combination 
of ingredients is superior to the effect of each 
of the recipes’ components. 
Here is one of the simpler prescriptions, 
taken from the wonderfully naive herbal of 
Kaaiakamanu and Akina (1922: 57): 
"For scrofulous sores, bad cases of ulcer, 
and other bad sores where the flesh seems to 
rot away, the following mixture is recom- 
mended: Take the meat of eight kukui nuts 
and have it baked in ki leaves until thor- 
oughly cooked. This is pounded or finely 
ground and then set to one side. About a 
tablespoonful of the breadfruit milk is then 
secured and mixed with the prepared kukui 
meat. In the meantime about a spoonful of 
the finely ground Cyperus laevigata fibers 
[ahrntva] and a like amount of the lama 
powder [Maha spp.] are being thoroughly 
mixed. The two mixtures are then put to- 
gether and thoroughly stirred and applied by 
spreading it [sic] over the sore or sores. This 
is done morning and evening and as long as 
necessary. 
"Before the treatment, however, the sore 
should be washed with the tea of the Boh eh 
spp. bark [ahakea] thoroughly cooked with 
about a gallon of water and with four red 
hot stones. The bark should be pounded be- 
fore boiling it in order to get its strength.” 
Table 5 gives the information concerning 
the relatively few plant extracts which were 
only slightly effective against the test bac- 
teria. A few of them are extracts from parts 
of plants which, in others of their parts, are 
much more effective against the test bacteria, 
but most of them are examples of mediocrity 
in performance that would sadden the heart 
of a kahuna lapaau. 
The following extracts exhibited no ap- 
parent antibacterial properties: Gracilaria 
fmcellata ( whole plant, 5 .9 3 ) ; Psilotum nu- 
dum (tea, 5.2); Nephrolepis biserrata (leaves, 
53); Freycinetia arbor ea (leaves, 5.9); Pan- 
danus Rockii (ripe fruit, 5.1); Coix lacryma- 
jobi (whole plant, 5.6); Saccharum offici- 
narum (leaves, 5.4; stems, 5.1); Setaria pal- 
mifolia (whole plant, 6.0); Stenotaphrum 
secundatum (leaves, 6.1; stems and roots, 
6.0); Scirpus validus (whole plant, 6.7); 
Cocos nucifera (milk from nut, 6.7); Alo- 
casia macrorrhiza (leaves, 6.0; stems, 5.8; 
corms and roots, 5.8); Colo casta esculenta 
(corm, 7.0); Commelina diffusa (whole plant, 
5.4); Cordyline terminalis var. Ki ( leaves 
and stems, 5.8); Dioscorea alata (tuber, 5.7); 
Musa paradisiaca ssp. sapientum var. (stem, 
5.7; leaf, 6.2; flower bud, 5.0); Hedychium 
coronarium (roots, 6.4; leaves and stems, 6.1; 
buds and flowers, 6.1); Zingiber Zerumbet 
(root, 6.0; leaves and stems, 5.8; buds and 
flower-stalks, 6.0); Casuarina equisetifolia 
(leaves and stems, 5.1; cones, 4.5; alcoholic 
extract of leaves and stems, ? ) ; Peperomia 
m-embranacea (whole plant, 6.0); Artocarpus 
incisus ( leaves and stems, 6.2 ) ; Morns alba 
f. nigrobacca (leaves and stems, 6.3); Tou- 
chardia latifolia (bark, 6.0; stems, 6.2; leaves, 
6.8 ) ; Santalum album ( leaves and stems, 
6.0); Amaranthus spinosus (whole plant, 
6.2 ) ; Mirabilis Jalapa ( leaves, stems, and 
flowers, ?; aqueous solution of seed-powder, 
?); Batis maritima (whole plant, 5.5); Por- 
tulaca oleracea (whole plant, 4.5); Nastur- 
tium officinale (whole plant, 4.7); Rubus 
rosaefolius (leaves and stems, 6.4); Acacia 
confusa (leaves, stems, and flowers, 5.5); 
Cassia Leschenaultiana ( whole plant, 5.8); 
3 Figures in the parentheses indicate the pH of 
the respective extracts. 
