Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of

Echinacea purpurea

L. (

Asteraceae

) extracts obtained by classical and ultrasound solvent extraction were compared. The dry aerial part of plant was extracted by 70% ethanol at a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:10 (m/v) and 25℃. The extract obtained by classical solvent extraction contained 29% larger amounts of phenolic compounds and 20% higher content of flavonoids. 2

2-diphenyl-1-picril hydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging reached 93.6% and the values of EC50 were (34.16±0.65)μg·ml

-1

and (65.48±1.12) μg·ml

-1

for the extracts obtained by the classical and ultrasound extractions

respectively. The extracts

independent of the extraction technique applied

showed a considerable growth inhibition on

Candida albicans

and

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

while no growth inhibition zones were observed for

Aspergillus niger

. The diameters of inhibition zone observed for all the microorganisms were larger for extracts obtained by classical extraction than those by ultrasound extraction.