Abstract

In recent years, the number of infectious diseases linked to the occurrence of bacterial and fungal resistance has increased, leading to extensive search for new drugs to treat these infections. Species of the Asteraceae family and the genus Eupatorium, have high biological potential and are used in folk medicine to treat various diseases. This review article presents the main phytochemical and biological characteristics of the Asteraceae family and the genus Eupatorium s.l., whose antimicrobial activity is promising, especially antibacterial and antifungal activity. The current review was achieved using an organized search of the scientific data published on antimicrobial activity and phytochemical of the species of the genus Eupatorium using various databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Scielo, SciFinder and Google Scholar. The species of Eupatorium are rich in terpenes, phytosterols and sesquiterpene lactones, the latter being chemotaxonomic markers of the group, with broad anticancer, antiplasmodial and antimicrobial activity, making them promising for the development of new drugs. Various species of Eupatorium seems to hold great potential for in-depth investigation for antimicrobial activities. Many species have broad folk use, with scientific confirmation of its antimicrobial properties making these plants potential sources of safer and more effective treatments.

Key words: Compositae, Eupatorium s.l., antimicrobial potential, ethnopharmacology, ethnobotany.