Comprehensive survey of indigenous Iraqi plants for potential economic value. 1. Screening results of 327 species for alkaloids and antimicrobial agents.

Three hundred and twenty-seven indigenous Iraqi plant species were screened for their antimicrobial activities and for the presence of alkaloids. The plants represent 221 genera and 49 families. Ethanolic extracts were tested for the presence of alkaloids with both Mayer's and Dragendorff's reagents. Of these, 146 species, belonging to 109 genera distributed among 32 families, showed positive alkaloid tests to both reagents. Of these, 26 genera have not been previously reported in the literature as containing alkaloid-bearing plants. The extracts were also tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activity by an agar dilution-streak method against six economically significant microbes. Five species were highly active, while another 90 species showed weak activity against one or more microorganisms.