Antimicrobial activity of Uncaria tomentosa against oral human pathogens

• Autor(a) principal: Ccahuana-Vasquez, Renzo Alberto
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Outros Autores: Ferreira dos Santos, Silvana Soléo, Koga-Ito, Cristiane Yumi [UNESP], Cardoso Jorge, Antonio Olavo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1806-83242007000100008; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/69482
• topic: Bacteria; Candida albicans; Cat's claw; Contact inhibition; antiinfective agent; plant extract; bacterium; chemistry; dental caries; drug antagonism; drug effect; drug screening; Enterobacteriaceae; human; isolation and purification; microbiological examination; microbiology; mouth; phytotherapy; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus; Streptococcus mutans; Uncaria tomentosa; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Cat's Claw; Dental Caries; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Mouth; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts

Uncaria tomentosa is considered a medicinal plant used over centuries by the peruvian population as an alternative treatment for several diseases. Many microorganisms usually inhabit the human oral cavity and under certain conditions can become etiologic agents of diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of different concentrations of Uncaria tomentosa on different strains of microorganisms isolated from the human oral cavity. Micropulverized Uncaria tomentosa was tested in vitro to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) on selected microbial strains. The tested strains were oral clinical isolates of Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus spp., Candida albicans, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The tested concentrations of Uncaria tomentosa ranged from 0.25-5% in Müeller-Hinton agat. Three percent Uncaria tomentosa inhibited 8% of Enterobacteriaceae isolates, 52% of S. mutans and 96% of Staphylococcus spp. The tested concentrations did not present inhibitory effect on P. aeruginosa and C. albicans. It could be concluded that micropulverized Uncaria tomentosa presented antimicrobial activity on Enterobacteriaceae, S. mutans and Staphylococcus spp. isolates.