Color versus bioactivity in the flowers of Bougainvillea spectabilis (Nyctaginaceae).

The methanolic extracts of Bougainvillea spectabilis (Nyctaginaceae) flowers (five different colors) were screened biologically by performing four bioassays: antibacterial, antifungal, brine shrimp lethality and phytotoxicity. It was observed that the methanolic extract of white flowers was the most biologically active among all tested extracts. The extracts of white, orange and shocking pink flowers inhibit, while the extracts of red and violet flowers promote, the growth of Lemna plants. The extract of white flowers also exhibits toxicity against shrimp larvae with a LD50 value of 33.5627 microg/mL. However, none of the tested samples gave positive responses against any tested fungi.