Abstract
Morbidity and mortality of the infected patients by multidrug-resistant bacteria have increased, emphasizing the urgency of fight for the discovery of new innovative antibiotics. In this sense, natural products emerge as valuable sources of bioactive compounds. Among the biodiversity, Eryngium pristis Cham. & Schltdl. (Apiaceae Lindl.) is traditionally used to treat thrush and ulcers of throat and mouth, as diuretic and emmenagogue, but scarcely known as an antimicrobial agent. With this context in mind, the goals of this study were to investigate the metabolic profile and the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extract (EE-Ep) and hexane (HF-Ep), dichloromethane (DF-Ep), ethyl acetate (EAF-Ep) and butanol (BF-Ep) fractions from E. pristis leaves. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed to stablish the metabolic profile and revealed the presence of 12 and 14 compounds in EAF-Ep and HF-Ep, respectively. β-selinene, spathulenol, globulol, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, α-amyrin, β-amyrin, and lupeol derivative were some of phytochemicals identified. The antibacterial activity was determined by Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) using the broth micro-dilution against eight ATCC® and five methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical strains. HF-Ep was the most effective (MIC ≤ 5,000 µg/µL), being active against the largest part of tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, including MRSA, with exception of Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and (ATCC 27853). These results suggest that E. pristis is a natural source of bioactive compounds for the search of new antibiotics which can be an interesting therapeutic approach to recover patients mainly infected by MRSA strains.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when microorganisms change when they are exposed to antimicrobial agents [1]
E. pristis has been poorly chemically and biologically scienti ic exploited, mainly under the microbiological viewpoint. With this context in mind, the present study aimed to investigate the in vitro antibacterial potential of ethanolic extract (EE-Ep) and hexane (HF-Ep), dichloromethane (DFEp), ethyl acetate (EAF-Ep) and butanol (BF-Ep) fractions obtained from E. pristis leaves against eight Gram-positive and Gram-negative ATCC® and ive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical strains
One of the most important factors for the discovery of natural active ingredients that can be useful for human resources consists mainly of the interaction between che mistry and pharmacology [24], making the chemical chara cterization of extracts and fractions obtained from medicinal plants a crucial step during the scienti ic investigation
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, virus, and parasites) change when they are exposed to antimicrobial agents (antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics) [1]. The antibiotics discovery revolutionized the modern medicine, enabling the success of invasive clinical procedures and saving millions of human lives [4] Despite these bene its, severe cases of infectious diseases mainly caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria have increased worldwide reaching at an alarming rate [4,6]. In function of these dif iculties, alternative antimicrobial researches have been important for the discovery of more targeted treatment strategies, including therapies employed before the advent of antibiotics. To ful ill these goals, there has been a return to traditional medicines and non-conventional practices, being the medicinal and smelling plants essential pillars of healthcare and traditional medicinal systems globally used [7]
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