Atividade antimicrobiana e efeito combinado sobre drogas antifúngicas e antibacterianas do fruto de Morinda citrifolia L

Abstract

La aparición de microorganismos resistentes y la toxicidad asociada a los antimicrobianos aumenta la necesidad de investigar nuevos principios activos. Morinda citrifolia L., es una planta fructífera utilizada popularmente como antibacteriano y con otros diversos usos farmacológicos. Posee diversos metabolitos primarios y secundarios, principalmente flavonoides, triterpenoides y alcaloides. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo ensayar la potencial actividad antimicrobiana y moduladora de los extractos obtenidos de su fruta. Los extractos de las frutas fueron testados tanto para determinar el efecto antimicrobiano como también utilizándolo en combinación con agentes antibacterianos y antifúngicos contra microorganismos patógenos, por el método de microdilución en caldo. Se observó que la asociación entre antibióticos y extractos dió resultados clínicamente significativos en pruebas con bacterias Pseudomonas aeruginosa y Escherichia coli.

The rising of the drug resistant microrganisms and the toxicity related with the antimicrobial drugs enhances the necessity about the search of new bioactive compounds. Morinda citrifolia L. is a fruit tree traditionally used as antibacterial and with several other pharmacological properties. This plant presents several phytocompounds as flavonoids, alkaloids and triterpenes. The objective of this work was assay the antimicrobial and modulatory potential of the fruit extract. The extract was assayed alone and associated with antibiotics and antifungals against pathogenic microrganisms using the microdilution assay. The results demonstrated that the association between extract and antimicrobial drugs resulted in a potentiation of the drug activity clinically relevant against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.

The surveillance of resistant microrganisms and the toxicity related with antimicrobial drugs enhances the necessity of research about new remedies. Morinda citrifolia is a plant commonly used as antibacterial, analgesic, and several other bioactivities, presenting aminoacids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, sterols, triterpenes and alkaloids. The aim of this work was evaluate the antimicrobial and the antibiotic-modulatory effect of the fruit extract. The extract was assayed alone and in association with antibiotic and antifungal drugs against clinical isolates by microdilution method. The fruit extract of M. citrifolia demonstrate an interesting modulatory activity, enhancing the effect of the assayed antibiotics against P. aeroginosa and E. coli, but not against Candida strains.