Estudio in vitro de la actividad antibacteriana de tres especies vegetales de la familia Euphorbiaceae frente a una cepa de interés periodontopatogénica.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activity of three plant species from the Euphorbiaceae family against a periodontopathogenic strain of interest. The selected species were Ricinus communis L (leaves), Croton lechleri Müll. Arg. (latex), and Plukenetia volubilis L (leaves), collected from different areas of the country. For this, phytochemical screening was performed to qualitatively determine the secondary metabolites present. Subsequently, the antibacterial activity of the plant extracts was evaluated individually as a dilution and in combination with chlorhexidine using the disk diffusion method against Streptococcus mutans. The results indicated the presence of terpenes in the ethanolic extract of R. communis, while phenolic compounds were found in both the aqueous extract of C. lechleri and the ethanolic extract of P. volubilis. Emphasis is placed on these compounds because they are attributed to the antibacterial effect in the crude extracts of C. lechleri and P. volubilis at concentrations of 12516 mg/L and 168300 mg/L respectively. In the case of combinations, a reduction in the effect was observed due to a possible antagonistic interaction between the plant components and the antibiotic. Consequently, it is concluded that C. lechleri and P. volubilis exhibit activity against the studied bacteria. It is recommended for future research to isolate the secondary metabolites responsible for this activity, which could offer new perspectives for the development of new antibacterial agents.