Searches for substances with antimicrobial activity are frequent, and medicinal plants have been considered interesting by some researchers since they are frequently used in popular medicine as remedies for many infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to verify the synergism between 13 antimicrobial drugs and 8 plant extracts -"guaco" (Mikania glomerata), guava (Psidium guajava), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), garlic (Allium sativum), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), ginger (Zingiber officinale), "carqueja" (Baccharis trimera), and mint (Mentha piperita) -against Staphylococcus aureus strains, and for this purpose, the disk method was the antimicrobial susceptibility test performed. Petri dishes were prepared with or without dilution of plant extracts at sub-inhibitory concentrations in Mueller-Hinton Agar (MHA) In a constant attempt to improve their quality of life, men have used plants as source of food, shelter, clothing, medicine, cosmetics, and for seeking relief from hardship of life. Some plants are known as medicinal because they contain active substances that cause certain reactions, from relenting to the cure of diseases, on the human organism (Silva Junior et al. 1994). Knowledge on medicinal plants sometimes means the only therapeutic resource of some communities and ethnic groups (Di Stasi 1996); and their use, especially in South America, contributes significantly to primary health care (Holetz et al. 2002). Infectious diseases still represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality among humans, especially in developing countries. Even though pharmaceutical industries have produced a number of new antimicrobial drugs in the last years, resistance to these drugs by microorganisms has increased. In general, bacteria have the genetic ability to transmit and acquire resistance to drugs used as therapeutic agents (Nascimento et al. 2000).In vitro studies on plants used in traditional medicine have been carried out in the field of microbiology, especially on pathogenic bacterial growth; and some of these studies were about the antimicrobial activity of Mikania glomerata Spreng ("guaco") (Boyayan 2002, Holetz et al. 2002, Psidium guajava L (guava) (Gnan & Demello 1999, Jaiarj et al. 1999, Nascimento et al. 2000, Ahmad & Beg 2001, Abdelrahim et al. 2002, Holetz et al. 2002, Voravuthikunchai et al. 2004, Qadan et al. 2005, Syzygium MATERIALS AND METHODSPlant samples -M. glomerata, P. guajava, B. trimera, M. piperita, and C. citratus samples were collected in 2004 from an experimental field of the School of Agronomical Sciences, Unesp, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, and the voucher specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, Unesp. Their leaves were dried at 40 o C and triturated in a mechanical mill. A. sativum, S. aromaticum, and Z. officinale samples were obtained from the local commerce in the same year and were used in natura for the extracts preparation. Preparation of plant extracts -Plant material, dried (M. glomerata, P. guajava, B. ...

No abstract

No abstract

In conclusion, the intestinal antiinflammatory effect of lactulose could be related to its prebiotic properties, supporting its potential use in human inflammatory bowel disease.

Coumarins comprise a broad class of phenolic compounds that influences the formation and scavenging of reactive oxygen species and the processes involving free radical-mediated injury. In light of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of esculetin and 4-methylesculetin, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these compounds in an experimental model of rat colitis induced by trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS). For this purpose, macroscopic (diarrhoea, extension of lesion, colonic weight/length ratio and damage score) and biochemical parameters (myeloperoxidase, alkaline phosphatase and glutathione) were evaluated. Our results reveal that these compounds, particularly 4-methylesculetin, may be effective for the treatment of intestinal inflammatory bowel disease. In the acute colitis model, esculetin promoted a reduction in the extension of the lesion accompanied by a reduction in the incidence of diarrhoea and restoration of the glutathione content. Similar effects were produced by the administration of 4-methylesculetin, which also inhibited the myeloperoxidase and alkaline phosphatase activities in the acute intestinal inflammatory process and in the model of colitis relapse. The effect of the esculetin and 4-methylesculetin on the inflammatory process may be related to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as observed in this study. The evidence for better effects of 4-methylesculetin in comparison to those demonstrated by esculetin in both experimental settings could be attributed to the presence of the methyl group at C-4 of 4-methylesculetin.

No abstract

The present study aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of some medicinal plants against Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus sp. The methanolic extract of Caryophyllus aromaticus presented the highest anti-S. aureus activity and was effective against all bacterial strains tested. 3815-3744. E-mail: ary@ibb.unesp.br Further acquaintance with different ethnic groups has contributed to the development of research on natural products, to the increase in knowledge about the close relationship between the chemical structure of a certain compound and its biological properties, and to the understanding of the animal/ insect-plant interrelation (8). For these reasons, medicinal plants are important substances for the study of their traditional uses through the verification of pharmacological effects and can be natural composite sources that act as new anti-infectious agents.The present study aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial activity of plant (Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, Caryophyllus aromaticus, Cymbopogon citratus, Mikania glomerata and Psidium guajava) extracts against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains isolated from human infections. The determined plant parts (200g) were ground, extracted with 70% methanol and filtered after 48hs. The plant residue was re-extracted by adding 70% methanol and filtered again after 48hs. Such procedure was repeated every 72hs, completing three filtration processes. The filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator at 45ºC for methanol elimination, and the extracts were kept in sterile bottles under refrigerated conditions until use. The dry weight of the extracts was obtained by allowing the solvent to evaporate and was used to determine concentration in mg/mL. (Methodology based on Betoni et al. (3); Table 1).Microbial susceptibility assays using the agar dilution (Mueller-Hinton Agar) method (%v/v and corresponding mg/ mL values) and the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were carried out for fifteen Salmonella Typhimurium, S. aureus, Enterococcus sp and E. coli strains plus one ATCC strain of each bacterium. Overnight cultures (37ºC) in Brain Heart

The staminode of J. oxyphyllla is multifunctional and its importance for female reproductive success was attributed mainly to the secretion produced by capitate glandular trichomes. This secretion is involved in complex chemical interactions with pollinating bees, including the solitary bees Euglossini. These bees are common pollinators of various species of Jacaranda.