Chemical and pharmacological investigations of constituents of Eleutherine bulbosa (Miller) Urb. (Iridaceae).

Eleutherin and eleutherol extracted from bulbs of Eleutherine bulbosa (Miller) Urb. (Iridaceae), collected in the Amazonian jungle and grown in Italy, were tested for biological properties. The extraction procedure and the results of antibacterial, cytotoxicity, and pharmacological assays are reported. Eleutherin has a weak and transient effect of decreasing the prothrombin time (in vivo in rats) and a weak antibacterial activity on Bacillus subtilis (in vitro).