ASSESSMENT OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF HYDROETHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF IN VITRO AND EX VITRO PLANTLETS OF Dionaea muscipula J. ELLIS

Objective: To assess the antibacterial and antifungal activity of hydroethanolic extracts of Dionaea muscipula J. Ellis against model bacteria and fungi of agricultural importance. Design/Methodology/Approach: In vitro plants of D. muscipula were propagated and acclimatized for three months. The antibacterial activity of the hydroethanolic extracts against Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus and the antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum and Pseudocercospora fijiensis were evaluated. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare the means obtained with a Tukey test (p?0.05). Results: The hydroethanolic extracts of D. muscipula in vitro and acclimatized showed a bacteriostatic activity against the bacteria E. coli (65.20 and 69.78% inhibition) and B. cereus (91.75 and 92.61% inhibition) and an antifungal activity against the fungus P. fijiensis of 7.56 and 14.21% of inhibition, respectively. Study Limitations/Implications: The hydroethanolic extracts of D. muscipula in vitro and acclimatized did not show antifungal activity against A. niger and F. oxysporum. Findings/Conclusions: The hydroethanolic extracts of D. muscipula in vitro and acclimatized showed a bacteriostatic activity against the bacteria E. coli and B. cereus and antifungal activity against the fungus P. fijiensis.