Antimicrobial activity, synergism and inhibitory capacity of production of enterotoxins by phenolic compounds present in essential oils on bacterial strains highlighting Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Since the dawn of civilization the search for cure of ills that affect mankind is constant. Considering the numerous diseases wich can affect humans, those caused by microorganisms deserve a special emphasis. Although antibiotics have revolutionized medicine in the treatment of infectious diseases to the point where we believed that this type of disease would not be a problem, the truth however was presented in quite distressing. Thus the pharmaceutical industries have been motivated the development of new antimicrobial drugs in recent years, especially due to the development of resistance to these drugs. In this context, the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., among others, are considered the main responsible for infectious diseases, a major cause of morbidity and mortality among humans, especially in developing countries. Therefore the aim of this project is to evaluate the effect of major compounds isolated from plant essential oils on pathogenic bacteria by testing Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), and to analyze whether there is synergism between the compounds and antimicrobial drugs commonly used in traditional medicine. Also tests will be performed with sub-inhibitory doses of the compounds on S. aureus in order to check whether occurs inhibition of the production of enterotoxins by them. Therefore it is expected progress in regard to knowledge of natural products with potential new antimicrobial agents. (AU)