title: Anti-Staphylococcus aureus action of three Caatinga fruits evaluated by electron microscopy.
abstract: This study evaluated the antibacterial activity of Anadenanthera colubrina, Libidibia ferrea and Pityrocarpa moniliformis fruit extracts against clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The samples were active for all S. aureus strains (minimum inhibitory concentration: 0.38-3.13 mg mL⁻¹), including the multiresistant strain. The morphological changes suggested the cell wall as the main action target. The treated-cells also lose their ability to form aggregates. The analysis suggests cell wall impairment, which causes the loss of viability and death. This study showed for the first time the morphologic alterations involved in the anti-S. aureus action of fruits of A. colubrina, L. ferrea and P. moniliformis. These findings indicated that these fruit extracts are sources of bioactive compounds that can be used as antibacterial agents.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratório de Glicoproteínas, Departamento de Bioquímica , Universidade Federal de Pernambuco , Pernambuco , Brazil.
authors.forename: Luís Cláudio Nascimento
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Jana Messias
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sandes
authors.forename: Maurício Magalhães
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: de Paiva
authors.forename: Janete Magali
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Araújo
authors.forename: Regina Célia Bressan Queiroz
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: de Figueiredo
authors.forename: Márcia Vanusa
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Maria Tereza dos Santos
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Correia
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts