Antibacterial Activity of Bougainvillea Glabra, Eucalyptus Globulus, Gnaphalium Attenuatum, and Propolis Collected in Mexico

Oswaldo Javier Enciso-Díaz, Alfonso Méndez-Gutiérrez, Lourdes Hernández De Jesús, Ashutosh Sharma, María Luisa Villarreal, Alexandre Cardoso Taketa

Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
CIDHEM - Centro de Investigación y Docencia en Humanidades del Estado de Morelos, Morelos, Mexico.
Departamento de Farmacia, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, Mexico.

DOI: 10.4236/pp.2012.34058                

Abstract

Bougainvillea glabra C., Eucalyptus globules Labill., and Gnaphalium attenuatum DC., as well as propolis, have been used in Mexican traditional medicine as a remedy to treat respiratory illnesses. There are few biological reports of such material collected in Mexico, despite the high demand for them as raw material for popular and industrial uses. The antibacterial activity of the plants and propolis studied here were evaluated against a panel of bacteria using three different methodologies: agar disc diffusion, macro and micro dilution methods. E. globules and G. attenuatum extracts showed the strongest active values (P > 0.05) in the agar disc diffusion method with a range of 8 - 22 mm inhibition zone, MIC values ranging from 25 - 250g/mL, and MBC values of 25 - 500g/mL obtained by macro and micro dilution methods. B. glabra extracts were active against E. coli, S. typhi, K. pneumoniae, S. aureus and S. agalactiae, with 8 - 13 mm inhibition zone, MICs ranging from 500 - 3000g/mL, and MBCs of 1000 - 3000g/mL. The propolis extract turned out to be active against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. aureus and S. agalactiae, with values of 7 - 12 mm, MICs of 1000 - 2000g/mL, and MBCs of 2000 - 2500g/mL. E. globules and G. attenuatum extracts were the most active in the three methodologies assayed. This is also the first time that the antibacterial activity of G. attenuatum has been experimentally demonstrated. The microdilution method showed to be more sensitive, less expensive and minor time-consuming technique compared with the other two.

Keywords

Antibacterial Activity; Bougainvillea Glabra; Eucalyptus Globulus; Gnaphalium Attenuatum; Mexican Ethnomedicine; Propolis

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Secretaría de Salud de México, Dirección General Adjunta de Epidemiología, DGAE, México, 2008. Available from: http://www.dgepi.salud.gob.mx/anuario/index.html.
[2]	Diario Oficial de la Federación, México. Secretaría de Gobernación, 1998. Available from: (www.dof.gob.mx/).http://www.ordenjuridico.gob.mx/Documentos/Federal/wo11040.doc
[3]	A. Cardoso-Taketa, R. Pereda-Miranda, Y. H. Choi, R. Verpoorte and M. L. Villarreal, “Metabolomic Profiling of the Mexican Anxiolytic and Sedative Plant Galphimia glauca Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Multivariate Data Analysis,” Planta Medica, Vol. 74, 2008, pp. 1-7.
[4]	A. Sharma, A. Cardoso-Taketa, Y. H. Choi, R. Verpoorte and M. L. Villarreal, “A Comparison on the Metabolic Profiling of the Mexican Anxiolytic and Sedative Plant Galphimia glauca Four Years Later,” Journal of Ethno-pharmacology, Vol. 141, No. 3, 2012, pp. 964-974.
[5]	E. Ca?izares and L. Tolosa, “The Collection, Characterization and Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Propolis Extracts from Campeche, Mexico,” Ars Pharmaceutica, Vol. 43, No. 1-2, 2002, pp. 187-204.
[6]	J. L. Ríos and M. C. Recio, “Medicinal Plants and Antimicrobial Activity,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 100, No. 1-2, 2005, pp. 80-84.
[7]	A. Umamaheswari, R. Shreevidya and A. Nuni, “In vitro Antibacterial Activity of Bougainvillea spectabilis Leaves Extracts,” Advances in Biological Research, Vol. 2, No. 1-2, 2008, pp. 1-5.
[8]	V. Gupta, M. George, L. Joseph, M. Singhal and H. P. Singh, “Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Bougainvillea glabra ¨Snow White¨ and Boungainvillea glabra Choicy,” Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2009, pp. 233-237.
[9]	V. Navarro, M. L. Villarreal, G. Rojas and X. Lozoya, “Antibacterial Evaluation of Some Plants Used in Mexican Traditional Medicine for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 53, No. 3, 1996, pp. 143-147.
[10]	L. Alzamora, L. Morales, L. Armas and G. Fernández, “Medicina Tradicional en Perú – Actividad Antimicrobiana In Vitro de los Aceites Esenciales Extraídos de Algunas Plantas Aromáticas”, Anales de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Vol. 62, 2001, pp. 156-161.
[11]	B. R. Ghalem and B. Mohamed, “Antibacterial Activity of Leaf Essential Oils of Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus camaldulensis,” African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Vol. 2, No. 10, 2008, pp. 211-215.
[12]	L. C. Navarro-Pérez and S. Avendana-Reyes, “Flora Util del Municipio de Astacinga, Veracruz, México,” Polibotánica, No. 14, 2002, pp. 67-84 .
[13]	F. Fajardo-Ochoa, “Intoxicación por Gordolobo (Gnaphalium sp.) en dos Recién Nacidos Gemelos,” Boletín Clínico Hospital Infantil del Estado de Sonora, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2004, pp. 34-38.
[14]	M. C. Marcucci, “Propolis: Chemical Composition, Biological Properties and Therapeutic Activity,” Apidologie, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1995, pp. 83-99.
[15]	National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Methods for Determining Bactericidal Activity of Antimicrobial Agents. Document M26-A. NCCLS, Wayne, PA, USA, 1999.
[16]	Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Method for Broth Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Filamentous Fungi. Approved standard M38-A, 2002.
[17]	J. N. Eloff, “A Sensitive and Quick Microplate Method to Determine the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration of Plant Extracts for Bacteria,” Planta Medica, 1998, Vol. 64, No. 8, pp. 711-713.
[18]	A. Aguilar, J. R. Camacho, S. Chino, P. Jacques and M. E. López, “Plantas Medicinales del Herbario del IMSS,” Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, 1994, pp.5.
[19]	F. Lara-Ochoa and C. Márquez-Alonso, “Plantas Medicinales de México – Composición, Usos y Actividades Biológicas”. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1996, pp. 25-26.
[20]	F. Kugler, F. Stintzing and R. Carle, “Characterization of Betalains Patterns of Differently Colored Inflorescences from Gomphrena globosa L. and Bougainvillea sp. By HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS,” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemisrty, Vol. 387, No. 2, 2007, pp. 637-648.
[21]	S. N. Giri, A. K. Biswas, B. P. Saha, S. P. Pal and M. Pal, “Studies of the Anti-inflammatory Action of Bougainvillea glabra Leaves,” Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 50, No. 1, 1988, pp. 42-44.
[22]	INBio, Instituto Nacional de la Biodiversidad de Costa Rica, 2011. Available at: http://darnis.inbio.ac.cr
[23]	B. M. Hancock, N. Al-Somal, K. E. Coley and P. C. Molan, “Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to the Antibacterial Activity of Manuca Honey,” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Vol. 87, No. 1, 1994, pp. 9-12.
[24]	A. Temiz, A. Sener, T. A. Ozkok, K. Sorkun and B. Salih, “Antibacterial Activity of Bee Propolis Samples from Different Geographical Regions of Turkey Against two Food-borne Pathogens, Salmonella Enteritidis and Listeria monocy-togenes,” Turkish Journal of Biology, Vol. 35, No. 4, 2011, pp. 503-511.
[25]	A. Fernandes-Júnior, E. C. Balestrin, J. E. C. Betoni,R. O. Orsi, M. L. R. S. Cunha and A. C. Montelli, “Propolis – Anti-Staphylococcus aureus Activity and Synergism with Antimicrobial Drugs,” Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 100, No. 5, 2005, pp. 563-566.