Antibacterial, Antifungal and Cytotoxic Activities of Two Flavonoids from <em>Retama raetam </em>Flowers

Abstract

We have investigated the antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities of two flavonoids isolated from <em>Retama raetam</em> flowers using the disc diffusion and micro-dilution broth methods. The cytotoxic activity was tested against Hep-2 cells using the MTT assay. The compounds licoflavone C (<strong>1</strong>) and derrone (<strong>2</strong>) were active against <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> and <em>Escherichia coli</em> (7.81–15.62 µg/mL) and showed important antifungal activity. Strong antifungal activity against <em>Candida</em> species (7.81 µg/mL) was for example found with compound <strong>2</strong>. The tested compounds also showed strong cytotoxicity against Hep-2 cells.<strong> </strong>These two compounds may be interesting antimicrobial agents to be used against infectious diseases caused by many pathogens.

Keywords

• &lt;em&gt;Retama raetam&lt;/em&gt; flowers
• antibacterial activity
• antifungal activity
• cytotoxic property
• flavonoid