Life Sciences Commons^™

Isolation Of Antibacterial Compounds From Artemisia Californica, Jae Eun Min

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The Chumash Native Americans of Southern California have well-documented traditions of using plants for medicinal purposes. If a specific plant has traditionally been used by Chumash for the treatment of cuts, wounds and infections, it may contain chemicals with anti-bacterial properties. One plant that fits these criteria is Artemisia californica (coastal sage). Because of the widespread use of antibiotics over the past sixty years bacteria are evolving greater resistance to known antibiotics, but unfortunately the rate of antibiotic discovery has diminished during the past twenty years. Therefore, novel and effective antibiotics are essential for the continued treatment of bacterial infections. …