title: Study of antimicrobial activity and atomic force microscopy imaging of the action mechanism of cashew tree gum.
abstract: The aim of this work was to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of two grades of cashew tree gum (crude and purified) against eight microorganisms and to analyze the mechanism of cashew tree gum antimicrobial action via atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. The results indicated strong antimicrobial properties of pure cashew tree gum against all tested microorganisms, except for Candida albicans and Lactobacillus acidophilus. On the other hand crude cashew gum showed antimicrobial activity only against Gram-positive bacteria (MRSA, MSSA, Listeria innocua and Enterococcus faecium). Atomic force microscopy imaging showed that pure cashew tree gum lead to bacterial cell collapse. In conclusion cashew tree gum presented relevant antimicrobial activity against most of the studied bacteria, and the purification of the cashew gum affected its antimicrobial spectrum.
authors.affiliation: CBQF, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Débora A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: CBQF, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Alexandra C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: CBQF, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Eduardo M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: IBILI, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Celas, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal; IBMC, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: João C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: CBQF, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Freni K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Tavaria
authors.affiliation: UFPI, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia - Biotec, Campus Parnaíba, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Av. São Sebastião 2819, 64202-020 Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: Felipe Bastos
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Araruna
authors.affiliation: UFPI, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia - Biotec, Campus Parnaíba, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Av. São Sebastião 2819, 64202-020 Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eiras
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE/Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.affiliation: UFPI, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia - Biotec, Campus Parnaíba, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Av. São Sebastião 2819, 64202-020 Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Roberto S A
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.affiliation: CBQF, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manuela Pintado
mesh_terms: D031021:Anacardium; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D053149:Plant Gums / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014197:Trees
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D053149:Plant Gums