Unknown

MIC determinations (against a broad spectrum of bacterial and fungal species: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, B. subtilis, C. albicans and A. niger) with the exception of those for E.coli, indicate that both the methyl P-orsellinate and the methyl and ethyl orsellinates were noticeably more active than the p-hydroxybenzoates (MIC values of 30 to 500 ug/ml compared with 400 to 2,000 ug/ml for the p-hydroxybenzoates) and showed the same order of activity as chlorocresol (MIC values of 100 to 400 ug/ml). Despite the fact that preliminary screening of extracts showed activity against E. coli, MIC tests indicated that activity against this organism was relatively poor and suggested the need for further screening with other gram-negative species.