In vitro and in silico Antifungal Activity of Metabolites from Bredemeyera brevifolia (Benth.) Klotzsch ex A.W. Benn.

Abstract

Bredemeyera Willd. is a genus of the Polygalaceae family, occurring in Brazil. This research aims to evaluate the phytochemical and antifungal potential, in vitro and in silico, of Bredemeyera brevifolia extracts. The identification of fatty acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and their quantification by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector showed that palmitic (36.55 mg g-1), margaric (3.66 mg g-1), linolelaidic (108.82 mg g-1), oleic (7.86 mg g-1), stearic (41.11 mg g-1), dihomo-γ-linolenic (85.48 mg g-1), and arachidic (209.00 mg g-1) acids are present in the hexane extract. From the chloroform extract, 1-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxyxanthone was isolated and identified. The minimum inhibitory concentration assay with methanolic extract demonstrated antifungal activity against species of the genus Candida, Sporothrix, and Trichophyton for up to 96 h, with values ranging from 64-1024 μg mL-1. The in silico study with the chemical compounds of this species showed fungal inhibition potential of sterol14-α-demethylase, highlighting 1-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxyxanthone, which presented an affinity energy of -8.8 kcal mol-1, greater than that observed for fluconazole (-8.3 kcal mol-1). The fatty acids interacted with the active site of the enzyme but presented energies ≥ -7.4 kcal mol-1. Compounds isolated from this species have pharmacokinetic potential for the development of pharmaceutical formulations.