In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Embothrium coccineum Used as Traditional Medicine in Patagonia against Multiresistant Bacteria

Abstract

Embothrium coccineum J.R. Forst. & G. Forst is an evergreen tree that has been used as a folk remedy for the treatment of neuralgia, tooth pains, wound healing, and glandular conditions, as well as an antiseptic agent against bacterial infection. The antibacterial activities of sequential extracts (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol) from the leaves of E. coccineum were evaluated by means of the micro-dilution assay against six (Escherichia coli; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Proteus mirabilis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) multiresistant bacteria strains. Ethyl acetate extract showed the best spectra of antibacterial activity against all tested bacteria, and was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for its composition. The results of the present work provide useful baseline information for the potential development and use of nanoparticles and/or nanofibers doped with extracts of E. coccineum in the fight against multiresistant bacteria, which would allow the validation of the traditional use of E. coccineum by native peoples of Patagonia as an antimicrobial agent in the biomedical Field.