Antimitotic and antibacterial effects of the Primula veris L. flower extracts

Primula is a plant genus which comprises about 400 species. It has been found in a number of pharmacological studies that primrose extracts are rich in saponins. Phenolic glycosides and saponins are characteristic compounds for the genus Primula. In this study several flower extracts from Primula veris L. has been tested for antibacterial activity and decoction from the flowers has been tested for antimitotic activity. Antibacterial activity was determined by the well diffusion method and Allium cepa L. has been used for evaluating cytotoxicity. Decoction of flowers was toxic on root number and root length in A. cepa L. and reduced the mitotic index significantly. All of the tested P. veris L. extracts showed inhibitory effect against both Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms at varying degrees. The most effective fraction was found to be the ethanolic.