Two biotypes of the invasive species, Chromolaena odorata are known to be present in Africa, viz. the Asian/West African biotype (AWAB) and the southern African biotype (SAB). Although the phytochemistry, ethnomedicinal and ethnopharmacological relevance of the AWAB has been elucidated, the SAB plants have received little or no attention.
This paper reviews the antimicrobial research undertaken on South African medicinal plants during the period 1997–2008. Antimicrobial methods (disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), bioautography) are briefly discussed and an analysis of the publications reviewed indicates that the majority of papers use MIC assays for antimicrobial determination.