Anti-HIV-1 and antibacterial potential of Hyptis radicans (Pohl) Harley & J.F.B. Pastore and Hyptis multibracteata Benth. (Lamiaceae)

Abstract

There is an urgency to develop more effective treatments to overcome the problem of drug resistance in patients with HIV and bacterial infections that leads from the increased risk of disease progression, to increased medical costs, prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality. Flavonoids and other phenolics are groups of natural bioactive compounds widely distributed in edible plants and are well documented to possess antiviral and antimicrobial activities. Hyptis (Lamiaceae) is known to be used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat various diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate antibacterial and anti-HIV-1 activities of Hyptis radicans and Hyptis multibracteata and correlate these data with their phenolic compound content. Antibacterial activity was evaluated against two Gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, and a Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, in vitro. H. multibracteata fractions were more effective on inhibiting B. subtillis with MIC50 23.6 μg mL−1 and 12.13 μg mL−1 for hexane and ethyl acetate phases, respectively. Hexane phase also presented activity against P. aeruginosa with MIC50 of 37.55 μg mL−1. Crude extract and hydromethanol phase from H. radicans showed moderate anti-HIV-1 activity (MIC50 159 μg mL−1; MIC50 180 μg mL−1), contents of total phenolic compounds are not the main sample feature to define anti-HIV activity but there is correlation between rosmarinic acid and anti-HIV1 activity of H. radicans. There was no correlation between phenolic content and antibacterial activity of H. multibracteata, This study provides the first evidence of the anti-HIV-1 and antibacterial activity for these two species of Hyptis.