Planta Med 2009; 75 - PD9
DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1234488

Antiprotozoal, antibacterial and antifungal activities of plants of the Lauraceae family collected in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest

E Izumi 1, RH Valdez 1, JM Alcântara 2, 3, KKL Yamaguchi 3, T Ueda-Nakamura 4, BP Dias Filho 1, 4, VF Veiga-Junior 2, 3, CV Nakamura 1, 4
  • 1Programa de Pós-graduação em Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina
  • 2Programa de Pós-graduação em Química, Universidade Federal do Amazonas
  • 3Depto de Química, Universidade Federal do Amazonas
  • 4Depto de Análises Clínicas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, PR Brazil

Lauraceae is a world-wide distributed family of flowering plants which most are aromatic [1]. Due to this characteristic, several species are used for cosmetics and gastronomic purposes, but the medicinal property of the majority of the species against infections and diseases is not completely elucidated [2]. As the microbial resistance to usual drugs increases, the search for new chemotherapics, including diseases which the cure has not been reached yet or the available treatments present great toxicity to humans benn is needed. In this study, the crude extracts of 13 species and the essential oil of 10 species (Aniba panurensis, Aniba rosaeodora, Dicypellium manauense, Endlicheria chalise, Licaria canella angustata, Licaria martiniana, Mezilaurus duckei, Mezilaurus itauba, Ocotea nigrescens, Ocotea splendens, Pleurothyrium vasquezii, Rhodostemonodaphne negrensis, Rhodostemonodaphne parvifolia, Sextonia rubra) were evaluated against bacteria (S. aureus, B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa, E. coli), yeasts (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis), and protozoa (T. cruzi, L. amazonensis). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for bacteria and yeasts in a 96-well plate after 24 and 48h of incubation at 37°C, respectively. Growth inhibition of 50% (IC50) was determined for T. cruzi after 96h at 28°C and L. amazonensis after 72h at 25°C, both in 24-well plates. Among the plant extracts, 12% were able to inhibit the growth of S. aureus and B. subtilis (MIC 140–260µg/mL), while more than 50% of the extracts resulted in IC50 less than or equal to 200µg/mL for both protozoa. The majority of the essential oils showed similar activity to the extracts inhibiting the growth of the same bacteria (MIC 250–1000µg/mL) and all of them inhibited C. tropicalis, mostly at concentrations below 62.5µg/mL. About 80% of the oils showed IC50 below 50µg/mL against T. cruzi and L. amazonensis. Then, Lauraceae species provided great results and studies might be continued.

Acknowledgements: CNPq, FINEP, PRONEX/Fundação Araucária, FAPEAM.

References: [1] Van Der Werff, H., Richter, H.G. (1996) Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 8:419–432.

[2] Marques, C.A. (2001) Floresta e Ambiente 8:195–206.