Antibacterial Chemical Constituent and Antiseptic Herbal Soap from Salvinia auriculata Aubl.

The bioassay-guided isolation of the active extract of Salvinia auriculata Aubl. led to the separation of three main compounds, characterized as stigmasterone, stigmasterol, and friedelinol. The pure form of diketosteroid presented a potential antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.01 mg mL(−1) against Staphylococcus aureus isolated from animals with mastitis infections. The active extract also showed a similar result to that previously obtained with pure diketosteroid when tested with the same isolates. The present study's results demonstrate the potential of this plant as an excipient for the production of antibacterial soaps aimed at controlling bovine mastitis infections, especially on small farms.