Phytochemical and biological prospection of Mimosa genus plants extracts from Brazilian northeast

Plant extracts and components are commonly used in popular medicine to relieve the symptoms of several diseases. They can also be used scientifically for drug testing due to their wide biological potential, acting as antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer agents, for example. Some plants belonging to the Fabaceae family, Mimosa genus, which are popularly known as Jurema, have been used for a long time by indigenous people and are still widely used in popular medicine. The presence of different secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, like flavonoids and tannins, for example, attribute to these plants several biological applications, such as antibacterial and antifungal properties, supporting their use in traditional medicine. In this study, ethanolic extracts were produced using the barks of three plants of the Mimosa genus. Phytochemical assays were performed to analyze the composition of the extracts and their antimicrobial, cytotoxic, hemolytic, and antioxidant activities were evaluated. To the best of our knowledge, the present study may be the pioneer in the investigation of the biological activities of Mimosa pteridifolia. Besides, all the extracts showed considerable biological activity, mainly because of their phytochemical composition, which consists of tannins and flavonoids. Further studies should be carried out to identify the active principle and investigate the mechanisms of action responsible for these biological activities.