Avaliação in vitro da atividade antifúngica de extratos vegetais frente aos principais microrganismos causadores da candidíase

Abstract

Candidiasis affects the oral cavity and is a disease caused by Candida albicans and other related species, such as C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. guilliermondii. Candida infections are currently a public health problem. This is due to the increase of immunosuppressed hosts, prolonged treatment with antibacterial among others. The use of effective antifungal agents against yeasts is an important means of controlling these oral infections. Several antimicrobial agents of vegetable origin are being investigated because of their possible pharmacological properties. The use of medicinal plants is a common practice by the current population and many plants have biological activity that is beneficial to humans. Plant extracts can contribute to the production of effective medicines. Plant species such as Ficus insipida Willd (Caxinguba or Cuaxinguba), Brosimum parinarioides Ducke (amapá), Byrsonima intermedia A. juss (saratudo), Curatella americana (caimbe), Anacardium spp (cajuí), present remarkable antibacterial, antifungal, antiinflammatory properties and antineoplastic and therefore, in this study were evaluated their (crude) ethanol extracts. The main objectives were: to determine the antifungal potential of these five dry extracts of these plant species, against the main oral Candida albicans (Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei and C. guilliermondii) lines, besides establishing the minimum inhibitory concentration ) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (CFM); to verify the morphological and structural alterations in Candida strains by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); to evaluate the toxicity of these extracts in mouse fibroblast cell (L929) and keratinocyte (HaCaT) models and Artemia saline model. Plant extracts showed antifungal potential with MIC and CFM of 0.0097 μg / mL and 5 μg / mL. By means of the electromicrographs it was possible to show morphological changes in the fungal structures of the four species submitted to the action of the selected dry extracts, which demonstrates their action on the evaluated fungi. The extracts showed low toxicity to L929 and HaCaT cells and toxic to Artemia saline (IC 50 = 80.70 μg / ml). Through the results presented in this work it is possible to attribute antifungal extracts to the main fungi causing oral candidiasis. The extract of Byrsonima intermedia presented better antifungal profile, proving to be the most promising of them