Avaliação do potencial antimicrobiano de Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville (barbatimão) frente Escherichia coli e Candida albicans

Abstract

With rising antimicrobial resistance, natural products have garnered interest as sources of bioactive molecules with therapeutic potential. Medicinal plants have been used for millennia to treat diseases, and in Brazil, this practice dates back to indigenous peoples. Barbatimão (Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville) is a medicinal plant native to the Cerrado biome; it is notable for its bioactive compounds with antimicrobial activity and is widely used to treat infections such as candidiasis and urinary tract infections. In this context, the present study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial potential of different plant parts of S. adstringens (Mart.) Coville against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. Initially, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in which barbatimão stood out as one of the primary plants cited by participants for treating candidiasis. Based on this result, decoctions of the leaves and bark were prepared at a 1:10 (w/v) ratio. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the disk-diffusion method with E. coli (ATCC 25922) and C. albicans (ATCC 10231) strains. Results showed inhibition zones ranging from 0 to 12 mm for E. coli, with antibacterial activity observed only in decoctions made from powdered plant parts that had been stored under refrigeration for 12 days. For C. albicans, inhibition zones ranged from 0 to 14 mm, and only the freshly prepared decoction of dried leaves exhibited antifungal activity. The results indicate that the decoctions possess antimicrobial activity, supporting the traditional use of barbatimão in the treatment of candidiasis.