Activity of crude extracts from Brazilian cerrado plants against clinically relevant Candida species.

Amabel Fernandes Correia,Yanna Karla De Medeiros Nóbrega,Dâmaris Silveira,Pérola Oliveira Magalhães,Yris Maria Fonseca-Bazzo,Christopher William Fagg,Suelí Maria Gomes,Lenora Gandolfi,Elton Clementino Da Silva,Riccardo Pratesi

doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1164-3

Amabel Fernandes Correia, Yanna Karla De Medeiros Nóbrega + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1164-3

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Abstract

BackgroundMedicinal plants have traditionally been used in many parts of the world as alternative medicine. Many extracts and essential oils isolated from plants have disclosed biological activity, justifying the investigation of their potential antimicrobial activity. In this study, the in vitro antifungal activity of six Brazilian Cerrado medicinal plant species were evaluated against clinically relevant Candida species.MethodsThe crude extract plants were evaluated against American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) standard strains of Candida spp. using disk diffusion method and determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The chemical study results were confirmed by HPLC method.ResultsAll six plant species showed antifungal activity. Among the species studied, Eugenia dysenterica and Pouteria ramiflora showed significant inhibitory activity against C. tropicalis at lowest MIC value of 125 and 500 μg/disc, respectively. The Eugenia dysenterica also disclosed MIC value of 125 μg/disc against C. famata, 250 μg/disc against C. krusei and 500 μg/disc against C. guilliermondii and C. parapsilosis. Pouteria torta, Bauhinia rufa, Erythroxylum daphnites and Erythroxylum subrotundum showed activity against the yeast strains with MIC value of 1000 μg/disc. The chemical study of the most bioactive extracts of Eugenia dysenterica and Pouteria ramiflora revealed catechin derivatives and flavonoids as main components.ConclusionsAll six evaluated plant species showed good antifungal potential against several Candida strains. However, E .dysenterica and P. ramiflora showed the higher inhibitory effect against the non-albicans Candida species. Our results may contribute to the continuing search of new natural occurring products with antifungal activity.

Highlights

Medicinal plants have traditionally been used in many parts of the world as alternative medicine
Many extracts and essential oils isolated from plants have been shown to exert biological activity justifying the investigation of their potential antimicrobial activity [11, 12]
Except for C. albicans and C. glabatra in which no inhibition could be detected, this extract showed significant inhibitory activity against C. parapsilosis, C. guilliermondii, C. tropicalis, C. krusei and C. famata, with a zone of inhibition extending from 12 to 15 mm

Summary

Introduction

Medicinal plants have traditionally been used in many parts of the world as alternative medicine. Many extracts and essential oils isolated from plants have disclosed biological activity, justifying the investigation of their potential antimicrobial activity. Many extracts and essential oils isolated from plants have been shown to exert biological activity justifying the investigation of their potential antimicrobial activity [11, 12]. Plants of the Cerrado, a tropical highland savanna covering almost 800,000 sq mi in the Midwestern region of Brazil have been broadly used in popular medicine [13] This region is characterized by an enormous range of plants that have been the focus of several research reports [14, 15] including the screening of several extracts and essential oils with potential anticandidiasis activity [16, 17]

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