1. Evaluations of the Antimicrobial Activities and Chemical Compositions of Body Fat from the Amphibians Leptodactylus macrosternum Miranda-Ribeiro (1926) and Leptodactylus vastus Adolf Lutz (1930) in Northeastern Brazil
- Author
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Débora Lima Sales, José Guilherme G. Sousa, José Galberto Martins da Costa, Diêgo Alves Teles, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves, João Antonio de Araujo Filho, Mario Eduardo Santos Cabral, Henrique Douglas Melo Coutinho, Olga Paiva Oliveira, Waltécio de Oliveira Almeida, Diógenes de Queiroz Dias, and Marta Regina Kerntopf
- Subjects
Leptodactylus macrosternum ,Article Subject ,Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,medicine.drug_class ,Antifungal drugs ,Antibiotics ,lcsh:Other systems of medicine ,Biology ,medicine.disease_cause ,biology.organism_classification ,Antimicrobial ,lcsh:RZ201-999 ,Microbiology ,Complementary and alternative medicine ,Candida krusei ,medicine ,Leptodactylus vastus ,Food science ,Staphylococcus ,Research Article - Abstract
Leptodactylus macrosternumandL. vastus(family: Leptodactylidae) are commonly encountered in the “Caatinga” biome in northern Brazil. The body fat ofL. vastusis used as a zootherapeutic for treating a number of human maladies. The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of the body fats ofL. macrosternumandL. vastusand to evaluate their antimicrobial activities as well as the ecological implications of their use in traditional folk medicine. Oils were extracted from body fat located in the ventral region ofL. macrosternum(OLM) andL. vastus(OLV) using hexane as a solvent. The fatty acids were identified by GC-MS. The antimicrobial activities of the oils, either alone or in combination with antibiotics and antifungal drugs, were tested on standard strains of microorganisms as well as on multiresistant strains ofEscherichia coliandStaphylococcus. OLM contained 40% saturated and 60% unsaturated fatty acids, while OLV contained 58.33% saturated and 41.67% unsaturated fatty acids. Our results indicated that both OLM and OLV demonstrated relevant antimicrobial activities (with MIC 256 μg/mL for both) againstPseudomonas aeruginosaandCandida krusei. However, no antimicrobial effects were observed when these oils were combined with antibiotics or antifungal drugs.
- Published
- 2013
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