Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants from the cerrado of the central-western region of Brazil
Braz. j. microbiol
; 43(4): 1302-1308, Oct.-Dec. 2012. tab
Article
in En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-665812
Responsible library:
BR32.1
ABSTRACT
Ethanol extracts from six selected species from the Cerrado of the Central-Western region of Brazil, which are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases and other medical conditions, namely Erythroxylum suberosum St. Hil. (Erythroxylaceae), Hyptis crenata Pohl. ex Benth. (Lamiaceae), Roupala brasiliensis Klotz. (Proteaceae), Simarouba versicolor St. Hil. (Simaroubaceae), Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Sterculiaceae) and Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) March. (Burseraceae), as well as fractions resulting from partition of these crude extracts, were screened in vitro for their antifungal and antibacterial properties. The antimicrobial activities were assessed by the broth microdilution assay against six control fungal strains, Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans, and five control Gram-positive and negative bacterial strains, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Toxicity of the extracts and fractions against Artemia salina was also evaluated in this work. All plants investigated showed antimicrobial properties against at least one microorganism and two species were also significantly toxic to brine shrimp larvae. The results tend to support the traditional use of these plants for the treatment of respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders and/or skin diseases, opening the possibility of finding new antimicrobial agents from these natural sources.Among the species investigated, Hyptis crenata, Erythroxylum suberosum and Roupala brasiliensis were considered the most promising candidates for developing of future bioactivity-guided phytochemical investigations.
Key words
Full text:
1
Index:
LILACS
Main subject:
Plants, Medicinal
/
In Vitro Techniques
/
Plant Extracts
/
Dilution
/
Ethanol
/
Anti-Bacterial Agents
/
Antifungal Agents
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Language:
En
Journal:
Braz. j. microbiol
Journal subject:
MICROBIOLOGIA
Year:
2012
Type:
Article