Antibacterial screening of plants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest led to the identification of active compounds in Miconia latecrenata (DC.) Naudin

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a serious global threat to public health. This has promoted the research for new drug targets, and the use of other approaches, such as antimicrobial combined therapy. The present study evaluated the antibacterial activity of 88 extracts from Brazilian Atlantic Forest trees. The organic extract from leaves of Miconia latecrenata (EMl) was the most promising for inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (0.3 mg/mL) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.5 mg/mL). After the bioguided fractionation of EMl and metabolite profiling performed by UPLC-DAD-MS/MS, the ethyl acetate (AFMl) and aqueous (WFMl) fractions showed a mixture of phenolic compounds derived from ellagic acid and quercetin. The MIC value of AFMl was two-times lower than EMl for P. aeruginosa, suggesting that these phenolic compounds can perform bioactivity. Furthermore, EMI and AFMl showed synergism with ampicillin and tetracycline for S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. These findings suggest that extract and fractions of the Miconia latecrenata leaves can be used as therapeutic antibacterial agents.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Bioprospection
• Miconia latecrenata
• Melastomataceae
• hydrolyzable tannins
• phenolic compounds
• antibacterial activity

Disclosure statement

JPVL, AOBR, LAR, ACA, IVS and AAA are inventors of the pending patent BR 10 2018 016092 3 filled in the Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial - INPI/Brazil.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais.