Carrier herbal medicine: an evaluation of the antimicrobial and anticancer activity in some frequently used remedies.

The antimicrobial properties of some traditional Carrier herbal preparations were evaluated using an agar dilution method. Pitch preparations were screened against known human pathogens: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus. The results indicated definite antimicrobial activity in the pitch preparations of Picea glauca and Pinus contorta and provide a starting point for pharmacognostic evaluation of these species. In addition, cytoxicity assays, to test the anticancer activity of methanolic extracts of Alnus incana and Shepherdia canadensis against mouse mastocytoma cells, were shown to be positive.