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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IV, July, 1950 
against the bacteria if their extracts were 
treated in such a manner as to purify or to 
concentrate the antagonistic agents. 
In those few instances in which subcultures 
were taken from the zones of inhibition, the 
effect of the plant extracts seemed to be a 
bactericidal one. This claim cannot be made 
for all the effective extracts inasmuch as we 
did not prepare subcultures from all the zones 
of inhibition. 
It should be stated here that the studies re- 
ported in this paper are merely preliminary 
investigations into the effectiveness in vitro 
of extracts of plants represented in the Ha- 
waiian pharmacopeia. They are in no sense 
an endorsement of the kahuna lapaau laau’s 
methods or a recommendation of some of 
these plants for popular usage today. Neither 
are they to be construed as a defamation of 
the medical folklore of Hawaii. They are 
merely a search for facts, upon which some 
day a scientific appraisal of the Hawaiian’s 
medicines can be based, and out of which, 
perhaps, a useful therapeutic may emerge. 
SUMMARY 
Preliminary investigations into the anti- 
bacterial properties of extracts from different 
portions of 101 species of plants which have 
been used in Hawaii for various medicinal 
purposes showed that extracts from 1 3 species 
possessed agents which were very effective in 
vitro in their action against test strains of 
Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus, Escherichia 
coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Extracts 
from 30 species of plants (some of the ex- 
tracts being obtained from parts of the same 
plants other parts of which exhibited very 
effective antibacterial action) possessed agents 
which were moderately effective. The rest 
were either ineffective or only slightly effec- 
tive in their action. Determinations of ef- 
fectiveness were made by testing extracts by 
the Oxford cup method developed for the 
assay of penicillin. Extracts were obtained by 
submitting freshly collected plant material to 
pressures of 15,000 to 20,000 pounds per 
square inch, achieved by means of a Carver 
hydraulic press. 
Extracts obtained from the following plants 
were the most effective: uluhe, Dicranopteris 
linearis-, red ginger, Alpinia purpurata; koa, 
Acacia Koa; tamarind, Tamarindus indie a; 
lime, Citrus am antifolia’, sand-box, Hura 
crepitans', three species of passion fruit, Passi- 
flora edulis f. flavicarpa, P. foetida var., and 
Passiflora sp.; pomegranate, Punica Gr ana- 
turn’, mountain apple or ohia ai, Eugenia 
malaccensis; ohia lehua, Metrosideros macro- 
pus; and guava, Psidium Guajava. 
Extracts of 17 of the plants were studied 
for their effect upon 5 strains of pathogenic 
enteric bacilli ( Salmonella typhosa, Sal. mon- 
tevideo, Sal. schottmuelleri, and two sero- 
logical types of Shigella p aradys enter iae) . Ex- 
tracts from four plants — Punica Granatum, 
Eugenia malaccensis, Psidium Guajava, and 
Morinda citrifolia — appear to possess agents 
which are effective against some or all of the 
intestinal pathogens tested. 
Of the plant families studied, species of 
the Punicaceae, Passifloraceae, Euphorbiaceae, 
and Myrtaceae appear to be most effective in 
their antibacterial action, and invite further 
investigation both for themselves and for 
other species included in these families. 
REFERENCES 
Abraham, E. P., E. Chain, C. M. Flet- 
cher, A. D. Gardner, N. G. Heatley, 
M. A. Jennings, and H. W. Florey. 
1941. Further observations on penicillin. 
Lancet 2: 177-188. 
Carlson, H. J., H. D. Bissel, and J. G. 
Muller. 1946. Antimalarial and anti- 
bacterial substances separated from higher 
plants. Jour. Bad. 52: 155-168. 
Degener, Otto. 1930. Ferns and flower- 
ing plants of Hawaii National Park. 312 
pp., 45 figs., 95 pis. Author, Honolulu. 
