Atividade antimicrobiana de leos essenciais de Lippia alba, Lippia sidoides, Cymbopogon citrates, Plectranthus amboinicus, e Cinnamomum zeylanicum em Mycobacterium tuberculosis

EnglishThe rise in cases of antibiotic-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis has become a major obstacle to the effective control of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. Essential oils (EO) are complex mixtures that may contain between 20 and 60 components, with two or three major compounds at relatively high concentrations (20-70%) that are responsible for their pharmacological properties. The objective of this study was to assess the antimicrobial activity of the EOs, bushy lippia (Lippia alba), rosemary pepper (Lippia sidoides), lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), Mexican mint or Indian borage (Plectranthus amboinicus), and true cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Chemical characterization of the EOs was performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the microdilution-based resazurin microtiter assay. Four EOs were able to inhibit the growth of M. tuberculosis, with MICs of 286.5±130.2μg/mL (C. zeylanicum), 299.5±117.2μg/mL (L. sidoides), 351.6±39.06μg/mL (P. amboinicus), and 1,250μg/mL (C. citratus). Only the EO of L. alba showed no antimycobacterial activity at the tested concentrations, with an MIC greater than 1,250µg/mL. Results of this study suggested that C. zeylanicum, L. sidoides, and P. amboinicus could be important sources of bactericidal compounds against M. tuberculosis and require further investigation. The activity against M. tuberculosis of these three EOs has not been reported previously. The results show the high potential of the tested antimycobacterial EOs, making them a promising alternative for TB treatment. This data also confirms the importance of bioprospecting studies for active substances with antimycobacterial activity, which are still scarce. Key words: anti-bacterial agent; essential oils; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Lippia alba; Lippia sidoides; Cymbopogon citrates; Plectranthus amboinicus; Cinnamomum zeylanicum. portuguesO aumento no numero de casos de Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistentes tem se tornado um grande obstaculo no controle efetivo da tuberculose (TB) mundialmente. Os oleos essenciais (OE), que sao misturas complexas que podem conter entre 20 a 60 componentes, apresentam dois ou tres compostos principais, em concentracoes relativamente elevadas, 20 a 70%, que sao responsaveis pelas suas propriedades farmacologicas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a atividade antimicobacteriana dos seguintes oleos essenciais (OEs) em Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv: erva-cidreira (Lippia alba), alecrim-pimenta (Lippia sidoides), capim-limao (Cymbopogon citratus), oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus) e canela (Cinnamomum zeylanicum). A caracterizacao quimica dos OEs foi realizada por cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de massa. A Concentracao Inibitoria Minima (CIM) foi determinada pela tecnica de microdiluicao da resazurina. Quatro OEs foram capazes de inibir o crescimento de M. tuberculosis, com CIM de 286,5±130,2μg/mL (C. zeylanicum), 299,5±117,2μg/mL (L. sidoides), 351,6±39,06μg/mL (P. amboinicus) e 1250μg/mL (C. citratus). Somente o OE de L. alba nao mostrou atividade antimicobacteriana nas conscentracoes testadas, considerando CIM maiores que 1250µg/mL. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que L. sidoides, C. zeylanicum e P. amboinicus podem ser fontes importantes de compostos bactericidas contra M. tuberculosis e provaveis candidatos a serem investigados. A atividade contra M. tuberculosis desses tres OEs nao foi relatada em estudos anteriores. Os resultados mostram o elevado potencial antimicobacteriano dos OEs analisados, fazendo deles uma alternativa promissora para o tratamento da TB. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram a importância de pesquisas para bioprospeccao de substâncias ativas com acao antimicobacteriana, que ainda sao escassas. Palavras-chave: agente antibacteriano; oleos essenciais; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Lippia alba; Lippia sidoides; Cymbopogon citrates; Plectranthus amboinicus; Cinnamomum zeylanicum.