Abstract
Orbignya speciosa (babassu) is an important palm tree in Brazil whose fixed almond oil is used in popular medicine and especially in food, in addition to being a research target for the manufacture of biofuels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fixed almond oil physicochemical characterization and its antibacterial activity in isolation and in association with aminoglycosides against standard and multidrug-resistant bacteria. Analyses such as water content, pH, acidity, peroxide index, relative density, and refractive index indicate the stability and chemical quality of the oil. In the oil’s GC/MS chemical composition analysis, a high saturated fatty acid (76.90%) content was observed. Lauric acid (56.28%) and oleic acid (23.10%) were the major oil components. In the antibacterial test, a more significant oil activity was observed against K. pneumoniae KP-ATCC 10031 (minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 406.37 μg/mL) and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 (MIC = 812.75 μg/mL), but for the other strains—including standard and multi-resistant strains—the oil presented an MIC ≥ 1024 μg/mL. Furthermore, a synergistic effect was observed when the oil was associated with amikacin and gentamicin against S. aureus (SA-10) and an antagonistic effect was observed with amikacin against Escherichia coli. Data indicate the O. speciosa oil as a valuable nutritional source of lauric, oleic, and myristic fatty acids with an ability to modulate aminoglycoside activity.
Highlights
The growing increase in microorganismal resistance to conventional antimicrobial drugs such as aminoglycosides has been challenging the scientific community and causing serious public health risks [1]
Orbignya speciosa fruits were collected from an area in the Chapada do Araripe (Sítio Arajara), Municipality of Barbalha, Ceará, Brazil
An exsiccate (#9709) of the species is found in the Caririense Dárdano de Andrade Lima Herbarium (HCDAL) of the Regional University of
Summary
The growing increase in microorganismal resistance to conventional antimicrobial drugs such as aminoglycosides has been challenging the scientific community and causing serious public health risks [1]. Aminoglycosides have a broad bactericidal spectrum, and despite their benefits in treating many infectious disorders, bacterial resistance to them has become a problem in recent decades [3]. Due to the growing resistance against aminoglycosides, several natural plant products have been studied regarding their antibacterial and antibiotic modifying activities. These natural products can increase or decrease an antibiotic’s activity, being an interesting tool against the resistance problem [1,4]
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