In vitro antimicrobial activity of plant extracts of semi-arid region of Paraíba, PB, Brazil

Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ethanol extracts of Schinus terebintifolius Raddi (aroeira-da-praia), Syderoxylum obtusifolium Roem et Schult. (Quixabeira), Bauhinia forficata Linn (mororo), Cnidoscolus urens (L) Arthur (urtiga-branca), Pseudobombax marginatum (embiratanha), Anadenanthera macrocarpa (Benth) Brenan (angico), Maytenus rigida Mart (bom nome) and Spondias tuberosa A. Cam. (S. tuberosa) against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis and Candida krusei. Methods: We used the agar disk diffusion technique in triplicate. After 48 h incubation at 37 °C the analysis and measurements of inhibition halos were performed. Results: We found antimicrobial activity of extracts from aroeira-da-praia, mororo, angico, bomnome and umbuzeiro against E. faecalis. S. aureus showed no sensitivity only to embiratanha and urtiga-branca. No substance showed antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa, S. mutans, E. coli and Candida tropicalis. Conclusion: Of the extracts tested, only the urtiga-branca showed no antimicrobial activity while mororo showed activity for most microorganisms analyzed.