Antimicrobial activity of medicinal and aromatic plants, which belonged to CPMA - Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of CPQBA/UNICAMP

• Grant number: 11/23179-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Marta Cristina Teixeira Duarte
• Grantee: Flávia Pinho da Cunha Pedrosa
• Host Institution: Centro Pluridisciplinar de Pesquisas Químicas, Biológicas e Agrícolas (CPQBA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Paulínia , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increase of antimicrobial resistance and its propagation around the world are the biggest threats to public health care and to the treatment of diseases caused by microorganisms. Nowadays antimicrobial resistance has increased abruptly. The essential oils are volatile and aromatic compounds derived from parts of plants such as flowers, leaves, fruits, seeds, roots, and sprouts, among others. The activity of extracts and essential oils of several plant species have been recognized and studied by empirical methods for a long time, but its antimicrobial activities were confirmed recently. Medicinal plants are used in folk medicine as medicines, antibiotics, analgesics, sedatives, and anti-inflammatory. The use of medicinal plants as a source of medicines is an alternative to therapeutics for disease treatment. In Brazil, studies with this goal are very important, once medicinal plants have been used as a choice of treatment and prevention of infections and diseases in health areas. Considering the fact that some products from medicinal plants have antimicrobial properties it is expected that using screening programs, new potential medicaments could be developed. Otherwise, scientific research focused on determining the therapeutic potential of plants is limited, there is a lack of scientific studies, which confirms the potential antibiotic properties of a large number of plants. The aim of the present study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of 10 medicinal species belonging to CPMA - Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from CPQBA/UNICAMP. The minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal bactericidal or fungicidal concentration (MBC) will be determined against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginous, Salmonella choleraesuis, Staphylococcus aureus, and the yeast Candida albicans. Furthermore, will be conducted chemical identification and fractionation of essential oils and extract with better activity.(AU)