Plumbagin is a naturally occurring naphthoquinone isolated from roots of
Plumbago scandens
. The plant was collected at the Campus of Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
P. scandens is used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of several diseases. The antimicrobial activity of plumbagin was evaluated using the macrodilution method. The compound exhibited relatively specific activity against bacteria and yeast. The minimum inhibitory concentration test showed the growth inhibiton of
Staphylococcus aureus
at a concentration of 1.56 μg/ml and of
Candida albicans
at a concentration of 0.78 μg/ml. These results suggest the naphthoquinone plumbagin as a promising antimicrobial agent.
