Antimicrobial Activity of the Tar Obtained from the Roots and Stems of Pinus brutia

The antimicrobial activity of the crude and methanol, hexane, chloroform, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n -butanol extracts of tar obtained from the roots and stems of Pinus brutia Ten., used in the folk medicine of Turkey, were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activity against clinically isolated bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus (15 isolates), Streptococcus pyogenes (12 isolates), Escherichia coli (17 isolates) and the yeast fungus Candida albicans (3 isolates) by the paper disc diffusion method. Results revealed that a crude extract of the tar is highly effective against all tested microorganisms by preventing their growth to a significant extent. All the organic extracts showed similar moderate antimicrobial activity against tested microorganisms at a concentration of 80 µg/mL. The results demonstrate that the crude tar extract has a very broad spectrum of activity, and suggests that it may be useful in the treatment of various microbial infections. The results suggest that traditional folk medicine could be used a guide in our continuing search for new natural products with potential medicinal properties.